\ LIBRARY, OF CONGRESS.'^ 



Chap. .:ss^^.xn. 

Shelf 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. % 



r 



I 



/ 



ANNALS 

1725-1875 

ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON 

BY THE 

REV. R. A, HALLAM, D.D. 



I 



ANNALS 



ST. JAMES'S CHURCH, 



NEW LONDON, 



FOR ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS. 



ROBERT A. D.D., 

Rector. 



" ^'ORUM MAGNA PARS FUL ' 



M. H. MALLORY & CO., HARTFORD, CONN. 
1873. 



INTRODUCTION. 



I HAVE been often asked to write the history of the 
parish ; and for some years have entertained an indefinite 
purpose of complying with the request. The parish is very 
ancient, — the oldest but two of the parishes in the diocese. 
It deserves such a tribute, and presents ample materials 
for one ; and by no one could the work be more suitably 
performed than by myself. Its child by my birth, my bap- 
tism, my confirmation, and my first communion, in my early 
days, and now for a longer time its rector than any other 
of its ministers, it seemed naturally to ask this service at 
my hands, and it is performed as a labor of love and of 
duty. 

Its One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary is at hand. 
Founded in 1725, in 1875 it will be one hundred and fifty 
years old. To that point of time I designed to bring down 
its history, and by the occurrence of that date to regulate 
my work ; but life and opportunity are to all men uncertain, 
and my failure of health has of late said to me very signifi- 
cantly, That thou doest, do quickly ; " " Work while the day 
lasts, the night cometh." To defer the task under these 



iv 



INTRODUCTION. 



circumstances, was to risk the opportunity of performing 
altogether. Hence, I determined to set about it without 
further delay, and have acted on that determination. This 
book is the result. I send it forth without apology. I 
deprecate no criticism. I solicit no praise. It is a simple 
unvarnished story of the past, with no higher aim than to 
set forth things as they have been and are, without conceal- 
ment and decoration, avoiding at once a tedious minuteness 
and a vague generality of statement; in one word, to tell 
the truth so far as the sources of information within my 
reach would supply me with material. That it is absolutely 
without error cannot be supposed, — ancient men and things 
have grown dim with time, records are imperfect, traditions 
are obscure, conjecture has to supply the place of certainty, 
and inference of results not positively known. Truth alone 
has been aimed at, and, as I believe, has, in all important 
particulars, been attained. The faded images of forgotten 
things have been revived, and the men and deeds of times 
long past stand before us, so far as may be, as they were. 

I will simply say I have done this work as well as I 
could. My sources of information have been the records 
of the parish, which, happily, are extant from the year 1725 
down to the present time, though the earlier portion of 
them are somewhat disconnected and fragmentary. I have 
derived much help from Miss Caulkins' History of New 
London," a work of great and faithful research, and trust- 
worthy impartiality. I have also derived some assistance 
from the recollection of the accounts of aged persons, 
whose memories stretched back into the past, and who were 



INTRODUCTION, 



V 



the contemporaries of my early days, but who have now 
vanished from among men. I now commend my book to 
the parishioners of St. James's Church, trusting that it may 
prove a fresh incitement to gratitude for the past, and of 
hope and courage for the future, and praying that He, with- 
out whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, may increase 
and multiply upon them His mercy, that they may so pass 
through things temporal, that they fail not finally to obtain 
the things eternal. 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



The settlement of New London began in 1646. Miss 
Caulkins, in her excellent history of the town, denominates 
the 6th of May, 1646, its natal day. The leader of the first 
company of settlers was John Winthrop, the second of that 
name, the son of that John Winthrop who was Governor of 
Massachusetts, and who acted so conspicuous a part in the 
■early history of that colony. The second John, the founder 
of New London, was afterward Governor of Connecticut, 
and the worthy deeds done to the country by the father and 
the son, have made their names justly illustrious among the 
founders of New England. The memory of this distin- 
guished family is perpetuated in the name of the town of 
Groton, opposite New London, which derives its name from 
a, town of that name in the county of Suffolk, England, 
which was the original seat of the Winthrop family. The 
first settlers of New London, anticipating great things from 
the noble expanse of deep and navigable water on which 
they had planted themselves, called the river, Thames, and 
their settlement, New London, hoping, perhaps, in due 
time, to rival the great city of their fatherland, — a hope of' 
which time has furnished, as yet, but a slender fulfilment. 
The country had previously been occupied by the Pequots, 



f 

8 ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 

a fierce, warlike, and powerful tribe, who had acquired the 
ascendancy in Eastern Connecticut, and exercised dominion 
over all the Indians east of Connecticut River by virtue of 
conquest or the spread of their own race. Hence, previous 
to the adoption of an English name, the English settlement 
was denominated Pequot, and the estuary of the Thames^ 
which forms its capacious and beautiful haven, Pequot har- 
bor. A few miserable remnants of this once proud and 
potent tribe, and the subordinate bodies of Mohegans and 
Niantics, still linger, in poverty and degradation, in the land 
of their fathers, on reservations which they lack energy and 
industry to cultivate and improve. 

Among the first settlers of New London, no trace is to 
be found of any attachment to the Church of England. A 
second company of settlers came, in 1650, from Gloucester, 
Mass., bringing with them their minister, the Rev. Richard 
Blinman, a clergyman in the Orders of the Church of Eng- 
land, who had been ejected for non-conformity from his 
cure at Chepstow, in the county of Monmouth. He is 
reckoned the first minister of New London, and seems to 
have comprehended in his charge all the inhabitants of the 
place. But neither he nor his people manifested any attach- 
ment to the Church from which a misguided conscience had 
led them to withdraw. For the accommodation of this new 
party of settlers, a new piece of land v>'as taken up south- 
west of the town lot, vvhich was called Cape Ann Lane^ 
from Cape Ann, Mass., one of the two points within which 
Massachusetts Bay is included ; a name which it still re- 
tains, though it remains even yet thinly settled, and has 
ever been an inferior and unimportant portion of the town. 
But neither in Winthrop's company, nor among the follow- 
ers of Mr. Blinman, is to be found any indication of attach- 
ment to the ancient Catholic Church of the English race. 
To find any such trace, we must pass over a period of a 



ST. JAMES'S, 'NE W L ONDON. 



9 



little more than a half century. There are no extant indi- 
cations of the presence in New London of any avowed 
members of the Church of England until 1723, when a 
child of William and Mary Norton was baptized there by 
Mr. Pigot, the missionary of the Propagation Society in 
Stratford and the parts adjacent, by the name of John. 
This took place on the 17th of April in that year. In the 
year following, October 25, 1724, the Rev. Samuel Johnson 
baptized Sarah, infant daughter of the same parents ; and 
in recording this baptism in his Parish Register, Mr. John- 
son makes this note: "N.B. — Mr. Talbot baptized Lau- 
zerne, son of Richard and Elizabeth Wilson, at New^ Lon- 
don, October 15, 1724." Thus it appears that John 
Norton was the first person episcopally baptized in New 
London, and these are the earliest signs of the Church's 
presence here. One would fain know more of William 
Norton and Richard Wilson who thus stood in the van of 
the now-lengthened train of their successors ; who they 
were, whence they came, whence they derived their knowl- 
edge of the form of faith so generally spoken against among 
those around them. But no such information is now to be 
obtained. The name of W^illiam Norton appears among 
those who subscribed to the erection of a church in 1725, 
and is appended, with those of others, to a letter addressed 
to Dr. McSparran on the subject, in 1726. But w^ho he 
was, or how he came to be a Churchman, does not appear. 
And of Richard Wilson nothing is known but the record of 
the baptism of his son by the extraordinary, and, certainly, 
very un-Puritan name of Lauzerne. All honor to their 
memories. It appears, thus, that the attention of the mis- 
sionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gos- 
pel" had thus early been directed to New London as a 
suitable field for their pious labors, and that they sometimes 
visited it, and gave it a portion of their services ; but 



lO 



ST. JAMES'S, XEW LOXDOX. 



whether statedly or only occasionally, I have not been able 
to ascertain. 

Earlier than this, however, a circumstance occurred, which, 
though it is not known to have had any immediate bearing 
upon the introduction of the Episcopal Church into Xew 
London, is an interesting fact in the ecclesiastical history of 
the town. In 1702, the Rev. George Keith, originally a 
Quaker, who had taken Orders in the Church, and the Rev. 
John Talbot, who is supposed to have been, and not with- 
out reason, a bishop among the non-jurors, but who never 
assumed episcopal rank, or is certainly known to have exe- 
cuted episcopal functions in America, undertook, under the 
direction of the Propagation Society, an extensive expedi- 
tion through the country. The only place in Connecticut 
visited by them was Xew London. Of this visit ]\Ir. Keith, 
whose account of their tour is extant, writes thus in his 
journal: ''September 10. 1702. — The next day we safely 
arrived at Xew London, in Connecticut Colony and Govern- 
ment, which stands by a navigable river. September 13, 
Sunday. — ]\Ir. Talbot preached there in the forenoon, and I 
preached there in the afternoon, we being desired to do so 
by the minister, Z\Ir. Gurdon Saltonstall, who civilly enter- 
tained us at his house, and expressed his good affections to 
the Church of England. 2\Iy text was Rom. viii. 9. The 
auditory was large and well affected. Colonel Winthrop, 
Governor of the Colony, after forenoon services invited us 
to dinner at his house, and kindly entertained us, both then 
and the next day." Thus it appears that the text of one 
of the first two Episcopal sermons ever preached in Xew 
London, probably in Connecticut, was this : " But ye are 
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit 
of God dwell in you. Xow if any man have not the Spirit 
of Christ, he is none of His ; " a not unpleasing preface to 
that protracted course of Christian teaching which has sue- 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



needed it, with a faithful maintenance of the same precious 
doctrine. 

The ''Mr. Gurdon Saltonstall," of Keith, is that Gover- 
nor Saltonstall famous among the early chief magistrates of 
Connecticut, who, on being chosen Governor, resigned his 
pastorate at New London, and filled prominent positions in 
civil life till his death, in 1724, retaining his residence in 
New London, where he had been pastor, though he had en- 
tirely withdrawn from the exercise of all clerical functions. 
Such transformations were not uncommon among the Puri- 
tans ofvNew England, and seem to have done no violence 
to their conceptions of the ministerial office. This same 
Governor Saltonstall it was who presided in the conference 
and debate on Episcopacy at Yale College, on the occasion 
-of the defection of Rector Cutler and Dr. Johnson ; an event 
which filled the Congregationalists with astonishment and 
dismay. '' I suppose," says President Woolsey, in his 
Historical Discourse," "that greater alarm would scarcely 
.be awakened now if the theological faculty of the college 
were to declare for the Church of Rome, avow their belief 
in transubstantiation, and pray to the Virgin." And 
Quincy, in his '' History of Harvard University," says of it: 
'' This event shook Congregationalism throughout New 
England like an earthquake, and filled all its friends with 
terror and apprehension." It is worthy of notice that a large 
part of the numerous descendants of Governor Saltonstall, 
probably a majority of them, have belonged to the Episco- 
pal Church, and among them have been numbered several 
of its ministers. The late Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall Coit, 
D.D., of Bridgeport, preserved among us the ancestral name. 

In the interval between the visit of Keith and Talbot, and 
the first successful steps toward the erection of a church, the 
materials for a congregation of the Church of England had 
been gradually gathering, from what sources and by what 



12 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



agencies cannot^ be clearly ascertained.^ iThere are na 
records extant that clearly set forth the facts. It is be- 
lieved, however, that the introduction of the Church here, 
and its early growth, were, to a great, perhaps a principal, 
extent, the result of the relation of the place to the British 
Government. Its advantages for commerce and navigation^ 
and the expectation of its growth and importance on this 
account, soon brought in a class of residents who had no 
sympathy with the prevailing Puritanism of New England, 
and who, being, from office or decided preference or convic- 
tion, attached to the Established Church, desired an oppor- 
tunity to worship God according to her seemly and vener- 
able forms. The offices they held, as the English law then 
was, compelled them to be Churchmen nominally ; and, no 
doubt, many of them were such on deeper and more spiritual 
grounds. They were not Puritans at home, and were not 
in sympathy with the Puritanism which they found dominant 
here. " Ccelum non a^iimain muta7it.^ qui irans 77iare ciirrunt.'^ 
Churchmen came here Churchmen, and naturally sought 
to provide themselves with the institutions and services 
which Churchmen love. Of those w^hose names appear in 
connection with the first steps toward the formation of a 
congregation, and the erection of a church here, several 
are known to have been Englishmen ; and perhaps it is 
safe to infer that others, whose origin is unknown, were 
such also. At any rate, none of them can be traced 
by their name to the company of Winthrop or of Blinman, 
I think we are warranted in believing that the Church 
in New London grew up out of the w^ants of a class of its 
inhabitants who had been drawn thither by commerce or 
business, and who, having brought their Episcopal predi- 
lections and preferences with them, were glad to bring 
them into action as soon as an opportunity was presented. 
Neither Narraganset on the east, nor Stratford on the west, 



sr. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



13 



planted the seed. Both gladly lent their aid to cheer and 
strengthen the growing blade when it began to shoot forth. 
The first founders of the parish, then, were English, not of 
the Puritan stock. 

It is evident, moreover, that the young shoot starting 
into life and growth at New London, did not wholly depend 
for its nurture on the care of Dr. McSparran. Dr. Johnson, 
at Stratford, still continued to care for it, and extend to it a 
measure of his active service. In a letter to the Secretary of 
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, of the date of 
June II, 1724, he says: ''I have since preached in New 
London, where I had sixty hearers, and where there is a 
good prospect of increase if they had a minister." And, in 
a postscript to a letter written iVugust 14, 1725, he writes: 
New London people are likewise going to build with all 
expedition. I have got considerable subscriptions, and a 
piece of ground to set it on." Hence, it is evident that he 
continued to interest himself in the rising parish, and exert 
himself in its behalf. So that while there is no disposition 
to derogate from the value of Dr. ]McSparran's services, it 
may well be doubted whether he does not rather overstate 
matters in calling himself, in so unqualified a way, its 
founder. Nearer and more accessible than any other min- 
ister of the English Church, they naturally resorted to him 
for advice and help. This he willingly afforded them, and 
the more readily because, by a matrimonial alliance, he was 
connected with some of their ablest friends and supporters. 

The notices of their affairs are, however, too fragment- 
ary and disconnected to be easily framed into a continuous 
narration. Not till after the completion of the church, and 
the establishment of a missionary, do the records of the 
parish assume a continuous shape, and afford materials for 
an unbroken narrative. 

The Rev. James McSparran, D.D., was, in these early 



14 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



times, the missionary of the Society for the Propagation of 
the Gospel in Xarraganset, embracing, in his field of labor, 
the country west of Narraganset Bay, all the southern and 
western part of Rhode Island, which was settled by many 
families of wealth and culture attached to the Church of 
England, who lived in a style of elegance and profusion 
exceptional among the first settlers of New England. To 
these people Dr. McSparran ministered many years, and 
extended his ministrations over a wide extent of country. 
A church was built on a beautiful eminence overlooking the 
bay, and thither the people from the country round, in every 
direction, far and near, resorted for their customary worship. 

This building, though a wooden structure, being fash- 
ioned in the firmest and most durable manner, with the 
antique fidelity and care, was subsequently removed to the 
village of Wickford, a few miles distant ; and though no 
longer used for the services of the congregation, is occasion- 
ally occupied, and seems capable, with a small amount of 
care, of surviving the changes and chances of a century to 
come. 

The services of Dr. McSparran began to be extended to 
the incipient parish at Xew London, some time in the 
earlier part of the eighteenth century ; but at what precise 
date they began, and whether on his own motion or by invi- 
tation — whether they were stated or regular, as a recognized 
portion of his missionary labors, or merely occasional, as 
circumstances called them forth — it seems now impossible to 
ascertain. There are, in the old register book of the Xar- 
raganset Church — the Tower Hill Church, as it was some- 
times called — a few entries of official acts of Dr. McSparran 
in New London, that indicate his presence and ministrations 
there from time to time. That Johnson and Pigot were 
there from the western part of Connecticut, and baptized 
children on two or three occasions at least, we have seen, 



57: JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



15 



and, in all probability, there were other ministrations of 
theirs of which no records remain. 

But to neither of these sources, the Narraganset nor 
the Stratford mission, can the origin of the Church in 
New London be properly traced, though both aided 
in fostering and strengthening it to the extent of their 
power. The Church was rather the offspring of the early 
commercial importance and promise of the settlement. Of 
those whose names remain as the active founders of the 
congregation, most are known to have been Englishmen, 
who were members of the Established Church before their 
coming, and were never Puritans or Puritanically in- 
clined. Early in the century, vessels began to be built 
and fitted out at New London, and an active trade was 
carried on with Newfoundland and the West Indies. There 
was a port of entry here, and a collector of the customs. 
The gentlemen by whom this maritime and commercial 
business was carried on wxre Churchmen, for the most part, 
by whom the ministers of their mother Church were gladly 
welcomed and assisted ; and, as their numbers grew and 
their means increased, the idea of erecting a church, and 
making provision for the regular maintenance of Episcopal 
ministrations, sprang up and strengthened, till it reached 
consummation. Miss Caulkins, in her history, after describ- 
ing the early mercantile adventures and achievements of the 
place, and the English influence by which they were pro- 
moted, adds : The residence of these English families in 
the town was not without its influence on the manners of 
the inhabitants, and their style of living. These foreign 
residents gradually gathered around them a circle of society 
more gay " (she means less puritanically precise and aus- 
tere), " more in the English style, than had before been 
known in the place, and led to the formation and establish- 
ment of an Episcopal Church^ is the true story of our 



i6 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



beginning. The nucleus of the Church was English, made 
up, not of Puritans converted to Episcopacy, but of English- 
men, to whom the Church of England was their natural 
mother, whom they had loved and honored from their 
childhood, and gladly welcomed when she presented her- 
self among them. Of this Church of the fatherland, mis- 
sionaries from the east and west alike contributed to 
establish, encourage, and strengthen ; but they cannot be 
said to have introduced it in New London. 

. The first decided movement toward the very desirable 
object of giving the incipient congregation a local habitation 
and a name, was made in the summer of 1725. And here 
the ancient records of the parish first begin to throw light 
upon our researches. The earliest paper extant in our pos- 
. session, is one which bears date June 6, 1725, and is the 
engagement of sundry persons to pay the sums annexed to 
their names, for the* erection of a church. It runs as fol- 
lows : 

Colony of Coxxecticut, Xew Loxdox, yune 6, 1725. 
Wee, The Subscribers, doe oblidge oiirseh'es To pay the Rev. Mr. 
James Mc Sparran, or to his Substitute, he being Treasurer, The Particu- 
lar Sums affixed to our names, for the Building and Erecting a Churcli 
for the Service of Almight}^ God according to the Liturgie of the Church 
of England as by Law Established. And doe further oblidge ourselves 
to pay the sd Sums as the Tr 

John Merritt, 
Peter Buor, . 
John Braddick, 
John Gidley, 
James Stirling, 
^Yalter Butler, 



easurer shall have occasion for the same. 



10 



£z 

10 

3 
20 

5 
5 

This engagement was not acted on directly. The reason 
of the failure or postponement, which ever it may have been, 
is now undiscoverable. But that the purpose was not 
abandoned, but, apparently, only deferred to be put into a 



10 



John Bennett, 
James Tilley, 
George Smith, 
Nathaniel Hay, 
James Packer, 
Giles Goddard, 



57: JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



17 



more practical and effective form, appears from a second 
paper, drawn up a few months later, which, as it was fol- 
lowed by the accomplishment of the object it contem- 
plated, has been considered the true beginning of the parish. 
Accordingly, September 27, 1725, is considered the parish 
birthday, — the day it began to have that visible being in the 
world which has now continued, without breach or interrup- 
tion, through all the vicissitudes and trials of a century and 
a half. This second document is as follows : 

New London, Septe?nber the 1725. 

\Vhereas Siindr}^ Pious and Well Disposed Gentlemen in and around 
New London, in the Colony of Connecticut, being Earnestly Desirous of 
Erecting a Church for their more convenient and Decent \Yorshipping of 
God, according to the Usage and Liturgie of the Church of England as 
by Law Established, Did Subscribe to the payment of Sundr}^ Sums 
Towards Erecting and Furnishing a Church in said Town of New Lon- 
don, as by a paper Bearing date June Sixth, 1725, may Appear, Reference 
thereto being had ; 

In order, Therefore, to begin and Carry on ye Building of said Church, 
The Following Gentlemen, viz., John Shackmaple, Peter Buor, Esq., Maj. 
John Merritt, Capt. Jas. Sterling, Mr. Thoms Mumford, and ]Mr. ^Yilliam 
Norton, have formed, and doe by these Presents Incoi-porate and foiTn 
Themselves into a Standing Committee to Agree for, Buy, Sett up and 
finish said Building, as well as to Purchase a convenient Place to Erect 
said Fabric upon, and Themselves Do Oblige Every Several Sum and 
Sums Contributed by w^ell Disposed Christians for that good Work faith- 
fully to lay out and Expend According to the Consent, Voice and Direc- 
tions of the Major part of Said Committee at their Several Meetings; In 
Witness whereof, the Gentlemen to these presents have Voluntarily and 
Unanimously Affixed their names ye Day and Year above written. 

John Shackmaple. 
Peter Buor. 
John Merritt. 
Walter Butler. 
James Sterling. 
Thqs Mumford. 
William Norton. 



i8 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



Along with this document is another of the same date, 
as follows : 

New London, September 1725. 

The Major part of said Committee being present at the House of John 
Shackmaple, Esq., Proceeded to choose a Treasurer to receive and Pay out 
such sum or sums as are to be drawn out of the Treasurer's hands by an 
Order or Orders under the hands of a major part of so many of the Gen- 
tlemen as shall be present at such meeting whence such order or Orders 
shall Issue; and further, it is agreed that such Treasurer as shall be 
chosen by said Committee shall have full Power and Authority to con- 
stitute one or more to Act for or under him in said affairs, that said Com- 
mittee may, upon any failure of said Treasurer, proceed to a new choice 
of a New Treasurer, as well as upon ye Demise, Removal, or Refusal of 
any member to act, proceed to a new choice of a new member in the 
room and place of any Dead, Removed, or Refusing member. 

At the aforesaid Committee meeting, the members then present chose' 
the Rev. Mr. McSparran, of Narraganset, Treasurer, to Receive the 
Subscriptions for Building said Church. 

John Shackmaple. 
* John Merritt. 

Walter Butler. 
Thos Mumford. 
WiLLM Norton. 
James Sterling. 

The particularity and redundancy of these documents 
exhibit the style of the day, and also the importance which 
the actors attached to the work they had taken in hand. 
They were to build a house to the honor of the Lord. It 
was an arduous work in itself to men in such circumstances 
as these. It was a serious and solemn work in itself, and 
they entered upon it with care and circumspection. 

In the documents just given. Dr. McSparran is consti- 
tuted the treasurer of the building fund. From this we infer 
that the work had been undertaken with his knowledge and 
approval, perhaps at his suggestion and by his advice, and 
that he stood pledged virtually, if not explicitly, to aid it 
with his influence and cooperation to the extent of his 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



19 



power. Doubtless, before this, he had visited the Church- 
men of New London, and given them, to some extent, the 
benefit of his ministrations. When such ministrations 
began, and how extensive and regular they were, it is now 
impossible to ascertain. The first trace of them to be 
found is the record of a baptism performed by him at 
Groton, in the ancient register of the old Narraganset 
Church, under date of July 14, 1723, three months after the 
baptism of a child by }>Ir. Pigot, which has been spoken of 
before. 

This baptism by Dr. McSparran took place on the 
eastern side of the Thames, at Groton, in the house of 
Thomas Mumford, who was, it appears from the documents 
given above, a prominent actor in forming the parish at 
New London, and one of the members of the original build- 
ing committee. From this time on, till the year 1744, there 
are occasional entries of official services rendered by Dr. 
McSparran at New London and Groton, in the register of 
St. Paul's, Narraganset, extending on far beyond the erec- 
tion of the church at New London, and the establishment 
of a minister there ; but there is nowhere any mention of 
his ministrations in the records of New London. These are 
the only facts known on which Dr. McSparran, in his 
America Dissected," grounds his declaration: ''I myself 
began one church, by occasional visits among them, at a 
place called New London." On which Miss Caulkins, in 
her history, comments : The claim which Dr. ]^IcSparran 
thus advances to the honor of having formed the Episcopal 
Church in New London, is, undoubtedly, valid. He was, 
probably, at first invited hither by the English residents of 
the place, and his zeal and energy soon enlarged the num- 
ber of adherents to the Church." 

That English residents were its original members, and 
the nucleus to which its subsequent growth was added, is 



20 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



apparent from what we know of the individuals who sub- 
scribed to the erection of a church, and formed the begin- 
ning of a congregation. 

A principal actor in these incipient measures, perhaps 
he may be justly denominated the foremost, was John 
Shackmaple, whose name stands at the head of the building 
committee. At his house the meeting of the committee 
recorded above was held, and there, it is believed, the 
infant congregation met for worship until a church was 
ready for occupation. John Shackmaple was an English- 
man, who, in 1707, was commissioned by the Surveyor- 
General, " Collector, Surveyor, and -Searcher for Connecti- 
cut," and, in 17 18, was confirmed in that office by the " Lords 
Commissioners of Trade and Plantations," his district includ- 
ing Connecticut, Fisher's Island, Gardiner's Island, and the 
east end of Long Island. His residence was at New 
London, where his office and position made him a person of 
consequence. He died about 1730, before the completion 
of the church, and was succeeded in the office of collector 
by his son, a second John Shackmaple. The house of Mr, 
Shackmaple, where service was originally held, stood at the 
northeast corner of what are now Douglass and Bradley 
streets, and was known as the Shackmaple House. It was 
aftervv^ard called the Wilson House, from a daughter of Mr. 
Shackmaple, who had married a Mr. Wilson, and resided in 
it. Fifty years ago, a portion of the house was standing, 
and inhabited by an old colored woman named Juno, who 
had been a servant of the Wilson family. 

John Merritt heads the subscription list of June 6, 1725, 
on which the name of Mr. Shackmaple does not appear. 
•That he was an Englishman does not appear from any posi- 
tive proof, but, from the circumstances, is almost certainly 
inferred. At first he inhabited what was then called the 
North Parish of New London, now the town of Montville, 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



21 



where he seems to have been a large proprietor. There he 
liberally aided the Congregational Society, it is presumed 
from a desire to support the. institutions of religion, and 
being without any place of worship of his own Church. 
When, in 1725, the project of building an Episcopal Church 
in New London was started, he entered into it zealously, 
headed the subscriptions for it, and was chairman of the 
original building committee. He died March 7, 1732, the 
year the church was finished, and was buried beneath the 
northeast corner of the new edifice. There his remains lay 
undisturbed till 187 1, when, in lowering the grade of State 
street, a part of which the site of the old church had long 
constituted as common highway, his bones were laid bare, 
and identified by a coffin-plate of thin copper in the form of 
a heart, which was turned entirely green and corroded by 
time, bearing the inscription rudely marked upon it : 

I. M. 

jE. 63. 

His bones were transferred to a lot in Cedar Grove Ceme- 
tery, belonging to St. James's Parish, and the plate is 
preserved as a sacred relic of the past. A man of means 
and public spirit, we find him interested in the establish- 
ment of a school in the North Parish, and the ground upon 
which the meeting-house was there built, was a part of his 
farm. A grandson of his, Merritt Smith, was subsequently 
a warden of St. James's Church. 

Peter Buor came to Xew London from the Island of St. 
Christophers, and purchased an extensive tract of land on 
the Xiantic River, about what has since been known as the 
Rope Ferry. His style of farming was so superior to the 
agriculture of the day, that his farm became the model farm 
of the region. He seems to have been a Churchman by 



22 



57: JAMES'S, XEW LOXDOX. 



birth and education, and gladly lent his aid to the enter- 
prise of building an edifice for the worship of the Church of 
England. 

Thomas ]\Iumford dwelt in Groton, on the east side of 
the Thames. He came originally from Narraganset, where, 
it is supposed, his family belonged to the congregation of 
the Xarraganset Church, and was connected with Dr. 
]\IcSparran through his wife, whose niece Dr. ]\IcSparran 
had married. He is repeatedly called "Uncle ^lumford " 
by Dr. McSparran in his diary. The Doctor was a frequent 
visitor at his house, and there he held service and performed 
the various functions of the ministry. At the first choice of 
officers in the Xew London parish, in 1732, he was appointed 
a warden, and continued either a warden or a vestryman 
twenty-three years. The elder Seabury's first wife, and the 
mother of the bishop, was his daughter, and he was thus the 
grandfather of the' first Bishop of Connecticut. 

Of the remainder of the subscribers, James Tilley and 
George Smith are known to have been Englishmen. John 
Braddock was of English birth, his father then residing at 
Southold, Long Island. James Sterling was a sea-captain 
sailing from this port, ''master of the largest ship that had 
then been constructed on this side of the Atlantic,'" and 
was, in all probability, an Englishman also. John Gidley 
married a daughter of John Shackmaple, September 17, 
1726, and is supposed to have been an Englishman. He 
resided chiefly at Newport. "Walter Butler is thought to 
have been a native of Xew London, though his parentage 
cannot be distinctly traced. He married ]\Iary Harris. 
He subsequently removed into the ]\Iohav,-k Valley, in 
New York, where his sons became conspicuous as Royal- 
ists in the revolutionary war. William Norton is, 
doubtless, the person whose children were baptized by 
Johnson and Pigot in their visits to New London in 1723. 



ST. yAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



23 



Who he was is unknown. Miss Caulkins simply remarks : 
" Norton is not a name belonging to New London, and is 
not mentioned after 1726." Probably he, too, was an 
Englishman temporarily living there. Bennett, Packer, and 
Goddard were Groton men. Goddard removed to New 
London, and was one of the vestry chosen in 1732, and a 
liberal and active friend of the Church. He was postmas- 
ter of New London, and a physician of large practice. His 
wife was Sarah L'pdike, of Narraganset, and his son, Wil- 
liam Goddard, a native of New London, was a printer, and 
one of the earliest newspaper publishers in the country ; 
and received from Dr. Franklin, the Postmaster-General, 
the appointment of Surveyor of Post-roads and Comptroller 
of the Post-office. The name of Goddard long continued in 
the parish ; but there is no discoverable link to connect it 
with Dr. Giles Goddard, whose only son was the William 
Goddard mentioned above. 

This brief statement concerning the founders, suffices to 
show to how large an extent the materials of the incipient 
parish were foreign, how small a part was indigenous. Dr. 
McSparran can be called its founder only in the sense of 
collecting, arranging, and organizing the materials that were 
ready to his hand; encouraging them with his countenance, 
counsel, and aid, as he had opportunity. To some extent, 
similar assistance had been extended to them from the 
missionaries in the western part of Connecticut. But Strat- 
ford is far — was practically far, indeed, in those days — from 
New London, and the distance between them Vv^as then only 
traversed on horseback, by rough and rudely-constructed 
roads. It is not probable that the Connecticut missionaries 
ever accounted New London a part of their regular and 
stated field of labor. 

The first use to which the committee put the powers with 
which they were entrusted, was to negotiate with Trinity 



24 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Church, Newport, for their church, which it was proposed 
to take down, remove to New London, and rebuild ; a pro- 
ject which, however strange and unwise it may seem in our 
day, was evidently not regarded as preposterous or obviously 
injudicious in those early times. Newport was then rapidly 
growing in population and business, and the church erected 
there in the latter part of the preceding century had already 
become insufficient for the wants of the growing congrega- 
tion. Then it was that the present spacious edifice still 
occupied by the parish was erected, which is now regarded 
with such veneration, and so carefully preserved. The 
only trace of this proposal that remains, is a letter on the 
subject from Dr. McSparran to the committee, preserved in 
the old record book, and which is here given : 

Narraganset, March 21st , 1725-6. 

Gentlemen, 

Pursuant to ye advice of Feb: 25111, I went to Newport ye next mon- 
day, and the Committee for building their new Church being acquainted 
with my business, met yt evening at Mr: Honeyman's house, to whom 
having Proposed when and upon what Terms they would Part v^th the old 
Church, they came to this unanimous Result, that, Provided the Gentle- 
men of New London would take dov^n. Transport, Erect, and Finish the 
Church at New London, and Expect no other assistance from them, they 
should have it and all its appurtenances Gratis ; except the alter-piece, 
which was expected to be given to Narraganset. Next day one or Two 
at most yt are not of the Committee objected against parting with it 
but upon Terms ; wt Those Terms will be when their Congregation 
meets (if ever it meet) to Consult upon yt affair, I am as yet unable to 
advise you of. In ye mean tim.e. Gentlemen, I would have you make no 
Offer, for should the few yt are for parting with ye old Church upon 
Terms Prevail (wch I can hardly think), yet must the price they Set be 
governed by ye advantage their old Church will be to themselves, if you 
liave it not ; and not by the Benefit it will be of to you if you have it. 
These things, therefore. Let me Propose to be distinctly and maturely 
Considered by you the Committe. 

(i.) If you have their Church you must Send the Carpenters you 



ST, JAMES'S, A^EW LONDON. 



25 



Intend to Raise it to pull it down for the Timber must be marked all 
anew, and Some new ones there will be wanting in the roof and other 
places; and although the Carpenter I Consulted, viz., Monday, Said the 
Charge of pulling it down would be ;f 50, yet the Gentlemen themselves 
conclude it will be more, and I believe you may Venture to Lay the 
Charge of takeing Safely down, Carting to ye water, putting aboard, and 
Transportation, at £^00. 

(2.) You will by this Church, whether Given or Sold, save no Board 
Nails, Plank Nails, Clift Board Nails, Shingle nor Lath Nails. It's like 
a few, and but a few. Plank and Boards will be Saved ; it will Save you 
no Shingles, Clift Boards, Laths, lime, nor window Frames. 

(3.) If you have the New Port Church you will then be under an 
absolute necessit}^ of conformity to ye dimensions of said Church, both as 
to the House and Belfiy. Now, it may be. Gentlemen, you will think a 
less Fabrick will do you ye Turn, wcli, if Built Square, may in Time be 
Lengthened and Enlarged. 

(4.) By this Church you will Save Something in the Pews, Pulpit, and 
Communion Table. You will do well, therefore, to Consider of the Di- 
mensions of ye Church (in case you Cannot obtain this), and See wt ye 
frame and materialls of all Sorts will Cost, and wt the workmen will 
Demand to Finish ye same, without wch you cannot Know when you are 
well offered. Should the Gentlemen here send you up their Terms. As to 
a Subtreasurer, I have determined Mr. Shackmaple for yt Trouble, and 
you will, wth all Convenient Speed, I hope, Pay in the Severall Sums 
annexed to your Names, yt there may be a beginning ; you have given a 
good and Encouraging Example in. ye^ Subscriptions, and the like is 
Equally needfull in paying them In to the Treasurer; by this others not 
of ye Committee will be animated, not only to Subscribe, but to make 
ready pay, for I must beg leave to tell you yt I think it absolutely neces- 
sary there be some money Lodged before the building is begun, Leest if 
Some Conseq^uences yt may Reflect Dishonor upon ye undertaking in So 
Captious a Country as yours is. The motion made by the Committee 
hindered me from any Farther Progress then, you See, with ye Subscrip- 
tion Paper, but I may Venture to assure you yt should the old Church be 
Denied you Gratis, Severall of ye Gentlemen will think themselves bound 
in honor to Contribute to ye Assistance, and, for wt I know, yt method 
may be Equally beneficial to You. 

I have Enclosed the Deed, there being no Difficulty in Drawing a 
proper Conveyance from Mr. Mumford to the use of the Church, for the 
2 



26 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Deed from him must be to 3, 4, 5, or 6 of you by name, in trust, for said 
use; with a Clause therein inserted obligeing the Gentlemen therein 
named, yt so soon as a Minister of the Established Church comes and is 
Settled amongst you, and has Erected and Incorporated a Vestry, they 
make Conveyance of said land and Edific thereon built to the Church 
Wardens by name, and their Successors for Ever in Said Office for said 
Use. I should have Waited on you My Self the Last Sunday of yt In- 
stant, but haveing no Horse, and being Shortly to go for Boston, hope you 
will Excuse my Absence. I have no more to add, but the tender of my 
Best Respects, wch please to Accept from, Gentlem^en, yi" most Obedient 
Humble Servant, 

James McSparran. 

The language of this letter implies previous consultatioriy 
and expresses, on the part of Dr. McSparran, but a partial 
and qualified approval. The project was never carried into 
execution, from what cause is unknown. But it is probable 
that the doubts, of its expediency and advisableness ex- 
pressed by Dr. McSparran prevailed, and the plan, upon 
mature thought and consideration, was abandoned. The 
movement remains on record only as a curious fact in our 
early history.- 

On the failure of these overtures, from whatever cause^ 
the committee determined to proceed without further delay 
to the erection of a church. For this purpose a lot of land 
was purchased, and a contract entered into with Mr. John 
Hough to place a suitable building upon it. This lot was- 
situated on the north side of the lower part of State street, 
that broad space which is still called the Parade, so called, 
it is supposed, because it had formed the parade-ground of 
a forti-fication which lay to the east of it, on the bank of the 
river. It contained about twenty square rods, and was of a 
wedge-like form, the east side coinciding with the west line 
of Bradley street, tapering to a point in the west, and 
leaving a passage of considerable width between the church 
and the north side of State street. It stood out apparently 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



27 



unenclosed, and surrounded on all sides by the public 
street. The area of the church itself was used for the pur- 
poses of burial, the graves being made beneath the floor, 
after the custom prevailing in England. The recent dis- 
covery of Mr. Merritt's grave, who was known to have been 
buried in its northeast corner, has helped to determine its 
location. From time to time, in various excavations that 
have been made for the public convenience and improve- 
ment, human bones have been unearthed, and the remains 
of the early Churchmen of New London exposed to view. 
A negligence that might seem, unpardonable, is only to be 
explained by the fact that, when the chujch was consumed 
by fire at the time of the revolution, there were no green 
mounds to mark the sepulchres of the dead ; and when the 
debris came to be removed, all traces of them were obliter- 
ated, and ''their memorials perished with them." And the 
poverty of survivors, and, in many instances, too, the politi- 
cal odium which attached to the memory of the sleepers as 
unpatriotic, and enemies to the cause of freedom and inde- 
pendence, prevented any endeavor to save their remains 
from dishonor. The number of these interments was not 
great. The early Churchmen who had relatives and friends, 
were buried with their kindred in the ancient burial-ground 
north of the meeting-house, where mouldering stones, with 
quaint devices like those around them, still mark their places 
of repose. The names of those who are known to have 
been buried beneath the church may properly be recorded 
here, to preserve them from utter oblivion. 

Mrs. Janet Merritt was laid beside her husband nine 
years after his death. Mrs. Gibbs, of Newport, a relation 
of Mrs. Matthew Stewart ; John Seabury, a brother, it is sup- 
posed, of the first minister, 1753 ; Matthew Stewart and his 
wife, an Irish gentleman whose wife was a Gardiner, of Nar- 
raganset, and several small children of theirs. Mr. Stewart 



28 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



died in 1779, and was, doubtless, the last person laid under- 
neath the church. Being an ardent Royalist, he became 
obnoxious to public feeling, and was a virtual prisoner in 
his own house. And tradition says that his death was con- 
cealed to avoid popular violence, and his body interred by 
torchlight, on a Sunday evening, under the old church. 
The lot had been the property of Amos Richardson, of 
whose heirs it was purchased by Edward Hallam in 1725, 
and it was now sold by him, for ;^5o, to Thomas Lechmere, 
of Boston, who conveyed it to the committee as a free gift. 
The purposes of the gift assigned in the deed are to erect 
thereon a church or decent edifice for the worship of God 
according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, to be 
forever devoted to this sacred and pious use, to keep up a 
church thereon and bury their dead therein." The date of 
the deed is June 26, 1726. 

The edifice which John Hough contracted to build was 
to be, in its interior length, 50 feet, by 32 in width, to have 
two double doors at the west side, and there was also a door 
on the south side, the roof half flat, and the other arched 
on each side," — a description not very clear to the writer. 
It was to have five windows, one in the rear and two each 
side. As it was constructed, according to the custom of the 
time, of stout oak timber, from the model farm of Major 
Buor, and well-seasoned stufi", it might have remained for 
centuries, had not the ruthless hand of war swept it prema- 
turely away. It stood facing west, and though a very 
simple structure, it was a respectable and not uncomely 
edifice, according to the ideas of the day. 

It had a bell, and, of course, a belfry to contain it ; tra- 
dition ascribes to it a steeple, but whether this was an original 
appendage, or was subsequently added, does not appear, 
there being no mention of it in Mr. Hough's contract. All 
we know of the bell is, that in 1740 a subscription was 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LOXDOX. 



29 



solicited ''to procure a new and larger bell; " by accident 
the bell belonging to the church having become useless, 
and being too small for our purpose. Such, so far as we 
can ascertain, was the first Episcopal church erected in 
New London. The beautiful photographic art was not then 
at hand to preserve and hand down to us its counterfeit 
presentment," and without this our notions of it are but 
vague and indistinct. But doubtless the little flock that 
first 'Svent into its gates with thanksgiving, and into its 
courts with praise," were as proud and exultant as those 
who, more than a hundred years after, hailed the completion 
of its present noble and costly successor. That happy con- 
summation was not reached, however, till 1732, the inter- 
vening period, long for so simple a work, being filled up, 
doubtless, by unknown and unrecorded struggles and anxie- 
ties. The first missionary writes to '' the Society " at home 
in 1742, that on June 20, 1726, a carpenter was agreed with 
for a wood frame ; that on the 9th of August following the 
timber was brought to the ground ; on the first of October 
the frame was raised and completed, and on the 28th of 
November, 1727, the house was enclosed, glazed, the under 
floor laid, a neat desk and pulpit finished. In this condi- 
tion he found the building when he arrived at Xevv' London, 
December 9, 1730, ''in the service of the honorable Socie- 
ty." Miss Caulkins speaks of the building as completed 
and opened for worship in the autumn of 1732. ]\Ir. Sea- 
bury came in 1730. Till that time, and in the years preced- 
ing his arrival, services were held, it would seem, more or 
less frequently by Dr. McSparran, and probably also by Dr. 
Johnson, in the house of Mrs. Shackmaple. 

Contributions for the erection of the church were not 
confined to New London, but were obtained in considerable 
amounts in Newport and New York. In the latter place 
Governor Burnet, a son of the celebrated bishop, contrib- 



30 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



uted ;£<^o ; and we find among the subscribers the names of 
Duer, Bayard, Ellison, Van Rensselaer, DeLancey, and 
Morris, conspicuous in the affairs of the Church and of the 
country. 

Ten pews were at first laid out in the east end of the 
church," and ten more at the west end, which were ap- 
praised and assigned to individuals at a price ; but as there 
are extant votes in later years giving permission to different 
persons to construct a pew^ for themselves, it is presumed 
that at the outset a considerable part of the church re- 
mained without pews, and was subsequently provided with 
them by individuals acting under the consent of the parish, 
- — a course very commonly pursued in the parish churches 
of England. 

Miss Caulkins preserves a tradition of this old church, 
which may not; be without interest, and should properly 
have a place in this history : 

'* The steeple or belfry terminated in a staff which was 
crowned with a gilt ball. In this ball an Indian arrow was 
infixed, which hung diagonally from the side, and remained 
till the destruction of the building. A delegation of Indians 
passing through the town, stopped to look at the church, — 
to them, no doubt, a splendid specimen of architecture. The 
leader of the party drew an arrow from his quiver, and, taking 
aim at the ball, drove it into the wood, so that it remained 
firmly fixed, and was left permanently adhering there." 

Dr. McSparran had, in accordance with the vote of the 
committee given above, appointed John Shackmaple sub- 
treasurer, and the committee itself, with Dr. McSparran's 
consent, associated Thomas Mumford with him in that 
office. So it is reasonable to conclude that the church was 
built under the superintendence and direction of these gen- 
tlemen, to whom the powers of Dr. McSparran had been 
thus formally delegated. 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



31 



But while the good work of rearing the material temple 
was progressing, the providence of God was preparing for 
them a pastor, who should build up the nobler " spiritual 
house," not of " the teil tree and the oak whose substance 
is in them though they cast their leaves," but of "lively 
stones," more enduring and imperishable, " acceptable to God 
by Jesus Christ," "built upon the foundation of the Apos- 
tles and Prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief Cornerstone." 

John Seabury cam.e from Duxbury, Mass., and settled in 
Groton, Conn., about the year 1700. His wife was Elizabeth 
Alden, granddaughter of John Alden, of the " Mayflower," 
who is reputed to be the first man that set his foot on Ply- 
mouth Rock. When a Congregational Church was formed 
in Groton, he was appointed one of its deacons, and is com- 
monly known as Deacon John Seabury. His fourth son 
was Samuel, who was born at Groton, July 8, 1706. This 
son was designed for the ministry, and with that view 
entered Yale College. During his connection with that 
institution, the excitement on the subject of Episcopacy 
arose, which led to the defection of Rector Cutler and Dr. 
Johnson from the established Congregational order. The 
College was shaken to its foundation, the course of instruc- 
tion was deranged, and many of the students withdrew. 
Among them was young Seabury, who, if he was carried no 
farther at the time, was at least made aware of the question 
at issue, and of the existence and force of arguments which 
had led some of the ablest and most scholarly of the Con- 
gregational divines to abandon their stations, and encounter 
in consequence obloquy and reproach. He proceeded to 
Cambridge, and finished his collegiate course at Harvard, 
where he graduated in 1724, at the age of 18. After a brief 
course of preparation for the Congregational ministry, he 
was licensed to preach, and for several months in 1726, as 
a licentiate, preached to the Congregationalists of North 



32 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Groton, his native place. About this time he married his 
first wife, Abigail, daughter of Thomas Mumford, who was 
one of the most active founders of the Church at New^ 
London, as we have seen, and whose wife was a near rela- 
tive of ]\Irs. McSparran. His distinguished son, the bishop^ 
the second son of this marriage, was born at North Groton^ 
November 30, 1729. This matrimonial alliance brought 
Mr. Seabury into intimate and familiar associations with 
the members of the Church of England, and tended greatly 
to strengthen his bias in favor of Episcopacy, if he had 
acquired any in his collegiate course. His first wife soon 
died, and his second marriage to Elizabeth Powell, of Nar- 
raganset, is recorded in the old register book of the Narra- 
ganset Church, as solemnized by Dr. ]\IcSparran, May 27, 
1733, after his entrance into Holy Orders. She was a 
granddaughter of Gabriel Bernon, a Huguenot, who was a 
prominent founder of Trinity Church, Newport, R. I. That 
Mr. Seabury's predilections and tendencies should have 
been confirmed and fostered by the associations and inter- 
course into which his first marriage brought him, was 
natural and inevitable. Reflection and study, doubtless 
aided by Dr. McSparran's help, under such influences soon 
ripened into convictions; and in 1731 he renounced his 
Congregational ministry and went to England, where he 
was ordained deacon and priest by the Bishop of London^ 
who was at that time, I believe, Dr. Edmund Gibson. He 
returned to America with a commission from the Propaga- 
tion Society, bearing date Z\Iay, 1732, and Vv'as appointed its 
missionary at New London. Here the parish, as yet in but 
an inchoate condition, was put in order by the election of 
wardens and vestrymen, and the adoption of the title St. 
James's Church, which it has ever since borne. Here he 
continued to minister wisely and faithfully for the next ten 
years, .the parish gradually growing in strength and solidity^ 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



33 



and, we may believe, also in the fruits of the spirit, till, in 
1743, he was transferred by the Society to Hempstead, Long 
Island, where he passed the remainder of his days. It is 
said that he preached his last sermon, however, in New 
London, while he was on a visit to his sister ]\Iary, the wife 
of Jonathan Starr, the first of that name (where the sick- 
ness of which he died first seized him). He died at Hemp- 
stead, June 15, 1764. 

Mr. Seabury's ministry in New London Vv'as quiet and 
uneventful. The ancient records, and his letters to the 
Society, show a gradmal increase of strength in number of 
pew-holders and communicants, and in accessions to the 
parish from the population of the place. He built and 
resided in a house known in later days as the Brainard 
House, on the north side of State street, nearly off against 
the entrance of Green, which has now, in the progress of 
improvement, made way for the block of brick buildings. 
He was cordially welcomed by the Churchmen of New 
London on his arrival, and at once entered upon the dis- 
charge of his sacred duties. Under his direction the parish 
proceeded to complete its organization ; and, from that day 
down to the present time, the record of its transactions 
rem.ains entire and unbroken. The record of its first 
action runs thus : 

New London, April 30, 1732. 
Upon the coming of Rev. Mr. Samuel Seabury to this iMission from 
the honorable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 
at New London, in Connecticut Colony, in New England, the congrega- 
tion of the Church at New London met on Easter Monday morning, 
April lotli, 1732, and, according to the Ecclesiastical Canons and Consti- 
tutions of the Church of England, elected and unanimously chose Mr. 
Thomas Mumford and Mr. John Braddick Church Wardens, and Mr. 
John Shackmaple, Mr. Matthew Stewart, Mr. James Packer, Mr. Giles 
Goddard, and Mr. Thomas Manwarring, Vestiymen, who accepted of the 

^^^^^* Samuel Seabury, Missionary. 

2^ 



34 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



I can nowhere find the title of St. James's applied to the 
parish until 1743, nor any vote adopting it. Probably it 
came into use, gradually and simply, by a tacit understand- 
ing. Previously, it had been called simply the Episcopal 
Church of the Congregation of the Church of England in 
New London. In the early records we find frequent men- 
tion of ^'the General Vestry," as distinct from the vestry 
proper, and persons are said to be admitted into it by vote. 
It is believed that this general vestry consisted of those per- 
sons who were allowed to vote in the affairs of the parish, 
and is equivalent to members of the society in the legal 
phraseology of Connecticut. If I mistake not, the term is 
so used in England. Webster defines vestry, " In England 
a parochial assembly." So, too. Dean Hook says : ^' Cer- 
tain assemblies of the parishioners, for the despatch of the 
official business of the parish, are called vestries." The 
name was given tliem because they were, or were supposed 
to be, held in the vestry-room of the church. Our modern 
use of the term, as, indeed, the thing itself which it denotes, 
seems to be an Americanism. 

The subscription to recast and enlarge the bell, clearly 
indicating that the church had been previously furnished 
with a bell, has appended to it the names, not only of 
Churchmen, but of other citizens ; and not only of New 
Londoners, but of friends in New York and elsewhere. 
Des Brosses and Livingston are evidently New York names, 
and two of the subscribers are marked as Jews. The date 
is May 18, 1741, and the amount obtained was £1^2 10s, 
4^. In this subscription the church is called " the Church 
of St. James " for the first time in the extant records. As 
the church stood right in the centre of population and busi- 
ness, the bell was a matter of general interest. It would 
appear, however, that the design was not carried into effect 
at once; for, in 1755, it connected with a work of 




sr. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



35 



general repairs, for which new subscriptions were obtained, 
and a tax levied upon the pews ; and then a clock was 
added. But, before this, Mr. Seabury's ministry had ended, 
and his successor had come in his place. 

In a letter to the Society, under date of May 3, 1742, 
Mr. Seabury writes : " New London is a small town, stand- 
ing by a pleasant river, about two miles from the sea, the 
principal port of Connecticut Colony. The first members 
of the Church of England who founded St. James's Church 
were either Europeans not long settled here, or persons 
brought up in other colonies." And that it looked upon 
itself, at least, as a place of some importance, is evident 
from a letter of Matthew Stewart to the secretary of the 
Society, dated January 14, 1743, in w^hich he speaks of New 
London as "the seat of his Majesty's custom-house, and so 
the port of greatest note in the c5lony, and, in many other 
respects, as a city set upon a hill which cannot be hid ; " so 
that " a man of mean and ordinary abilities " there " would 
bring the Church into contempt," and the more so as the 
Independent minister — the writer's ancestor — "has a well 
established character, and is, in every respect, the most 
superior person in the colony." This Matthew Stewart was 
the Irish gentleman heretofore mentioned, who resided in 
New London more than half a century, and, in the early 
days of St. James's, was among its most conspicuous and 
influential members. ®As an outspoken Royalist in the 
Revolution, he was obliged to keep himself close, and was 
at last buried at night under the old church, two years 
before its destruction. 

The last years of Mr. Seabury's ministry in New Lon- 
don were disturbed and embarrassed by the extraordinary 
flood of religious extravagance and fanaticism that swept 
over the land after Whitfield's career in America, called 
frequently the Great Awakening and the New Light, and 



36 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



which was a reaction from that terrible deadness and 
immorality in which the earnestness and severity of the 
Puritan settlers had issued within a century from their 
coming. The same reaction had given birth to Methodism 
in the mother country. In this wild deluge of religious 
zeal, New London largely shared. Whitfield himself came 
here, and here Davenport, one of the most extravagant of 
his disciples and imitators, enacted some of the wildest of 
his fanatical performances. The position of the minister of 
the Church, under these circumstances, became difficult and 
embarrassing. Mr. Seabury writes, June 5, 1743 : " These 
people have their meetings in New London almost every 
night or day, and it is not uncommion (as I am apprised by 
persons of good sense and integrity) to see ten or more 
seized at once with violent agitations, many incapable of 
any decency, crying out for their damned estate, so past 
speaking at all, or so much as being unable to stand, fall 
down, as they pretend, with the weight of their guilt ; and 
the most of those continuing thus violently exercised (as 
they say with conviction) but a few hours, do they receive 
comfort } The Spirit of God, they say, witnesses with their 
spirits that they are converted and born again. Then fol- 
low, immediately, raptures and transports of joy as are more 
surprising than their distresses. New London has been, for 
a week together, in such a tumult that I was afraid the 
people would have been beside themselves. I have had my 
house full of people, some under these distresses, and 
others surprised at the conduct of their neighbors, though I 
thank God I have never seen any person in this way but, 
by cool reasoning, and by plain exposition of the terms of 
reconciliation, they have been brought off from their amaz- 
ing apprehensions to a just notion of the doctrines of 
repentance and remission of sins." 

Davenport, after working the people up to frenzy by his 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



37 



violent preaching, induced them, as he called it, to burn 
their idols, in imitation of those men at Ephesus who 
" brought their books together, and burned them before all 
men." This shocking exhibition occurred Sunday evening, 
March 6, 1743. ''This," says IVIiss Caulkins, "has been 
regarded as the most conspicuous instance of fanaticism 
which occurred in New England." Rich apparel, books, 
whatever were esteemed most valuable, was to be sacrificed, 
— Davenport himself, tradition says, setting the example by 
throwing in a pair of velvet breeches. The wretched scene 
was exhibited in front of ]^Ir. Christopher's, at the head of 
what is now Hallam street. Davenport himself, when he 
came to a better mind, in his recantation, speaks of it as 
" that awful affair of books and clothes, at Xew London," 
and confesses himself the " ringleader in that horrid 
action." 

It was in the midst of this commotion that Mr. Seabury 
was transferred to Hempstead, and his congregation, sur- 
rounded by the religious uproar, vrere left as sheep not hav- 
ing a shepherd. This consideration is strongly urged by 
the parish in their application to the Society for a successor 
to Mr. Seabury : 

Rev. Sir, 

The Rev. Mr. Seabur}-, our present worthy pastor, having acquainted 
us that he has consented to and joined the solicitations of the people at 
Hempstead, on Long Island, for his removal to that parish, administers to 
us an apprehension of a vacancy in our church, and to you the trouble of 
this letter. The very great convulsions occasioned here, and in divers 
other places in this colony, by the breakmg out of what is called the 
New Light, makes this a melancholy juncture to have our Church empty 
and unsupplied, and the more so in the regard that the present discord 
having set sundiy of the most cool and considerate people to thinking and 
reading, there is a promising prospect of those inquirers into religion end- 
ing in thorough and well-weighed conformity to our Church. And this 
again makes it the more necessary that this Church should be made happy 



38 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



in the appointment of a missionary, who, for morals, learning, and experi- 
mental knowledge in the present state of things, might be equal to the 
difficulties of the present times. The congregation, therefore, being 
anxious for an experienced person to succeed Mr. Seabury, and being met 
after divine service on the afternoon of St. Matthias' Day, did agree that 
we, the subscribers, the present Church Wardens, should signify to the 
honorable Board that the congregation are now applying themselves to 
some gentlemen already in the Mission, whose activities and abilities 
they are in some measure acquainted with, in order to obtain, if possible, 
the removal of some one of them to New London ; and if they are so 
happy as to succeed in such application, they humbly hope the honorable 
Society will concur with and facilitate such remove. But, failing these 
endeavors, that they would, in their great wisdom and piety, make such 
provision for them as may preserve them from the too common fate of 
sheep left without a shepherd. 

With our unfeigned thanks to Almighty God for raising up and hitherto 
enabling the honorable Society to be patrons to our poor infant Church, 
encircled with enemies, we add our earnest prayers for God's blessing 
upon their endeavors, and are the honorable Society's, 
and. Sir, your obedient servants, 

Nathaniel Green, \ Church 
Edward Palmes, /Wardens. 

By order of the congregation. 

New London, Eeb, 26, 1742-3. 

In their apprehension of the evils likely to result from 
the approaching vacancy, they also addressed themselves to 
the Rev. Mr. Price, Commissary of the Bishop of London, 
at a meeting of the clergy at Newport, to obtain his sym- 
pathy and aid, as follows : 

Rev. Sir, 

We have, for some time past, been under the apprehension of being 
destitute of a minister this summer, and we rejoice at so favorable an 
opportunity of addressing the body of the Clergy for their charitable 
assistance. We, therefore, in the behalf of the Congregation, presume to 
beg that some scheme may be formed and communicated to us for our 
occasional supply. We have no reason to think that we shall be under 



sr. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



39 



the necessity of troubling them for such a favor before the middle of July- 
next, and, if we might obtain encouragement for assistance from that 
time, we should esteem it a special favor, and ourselves at all times to 
make the most sincere acknowledgments. We are, Rev. Sir, your and 
the Clergy's 

most humble servants, 

Edward Palmes, ) r-^ ^xt j 

' I Ch. V/ardens. 

Merritt Smith, ) 
New London, 30//^ Maj/, 1742. 

Overtures were, at the same time, made to the Rev. Mr. 
Brown, of Brook Haven, L. I., inviting him to succeed Mr. 
Seabury ; and a letter was written to Dr. Cutler, of Boston, 
" to know if he will advise his son to remove from England to 
this church." Neither effort produced any effect, and the 
parish was left, under circumstances calculated to produce 
anxiety and alarm, to await the removal of its first minister. 
The want they so earnestly deplore does not seem to have 
been supplied till nearly, or quite, 1748. Whether they had 
any other than occasional services in the interval does not 
appear. From the records of Narraganset, it appears that 
Dr. McSparran officiated at New London the 3d and loth 
of March, 1744. Mr. Punderson speaks of officiating there 
one Sunday. It is probable that he, and perhaps Dr. 
McSparran also, officiated here at other times, and perhaps 
other clergymen ; but it does not appear that the mischief 
anticipated from the vacancy was, to any great extent, real- 
ized. 

In 1745, the Society determined to send them a mission- 
ary, on condition that they should furnish him with a house. 
The parish voted to comply with the condition, and to pur- 
chase a house immiediately ; but subsequently rescinded the 
vote to buy, and determined instead to build a house. The 
records of the transaction are not very full or complete, but 
it might seem that they were influenced to make the change 



40 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



by the proffer of a lot on which to build, by Mr. Samuel 
Edgecomb, who was then the owner of a considerable tract 
of land on the west side of Main street, extending north and 
south on either side of what is now called Church street. 
This lot, four rods front and nine rods deep, was conveyed 
to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, in order 
that a house might be built thereon for the accommodation 
of their missionary. The house was built, and continued to 
be the parsonage of the parish, and the house of its minister, 
till 1856, when it was sold, as a preparatory measure for the 
erection of the present rectory. It still remains, and, after 
some repairs and improvements, is a comfortable and re- 
spectable dwelling-house. It was "two stories high, with 
a gambrel roof," and originally of the thickness of only a 
single room, and consisted of a parlor and kitchen, with bed- 
rooms over them, and a chamber in the attic. The work, 
however, seems to' have lingered, and advanced to its com- 
pletion very slowly ; for, in 1747, Mr. Punderson, who was 
then the missionary at North Groton (now Poquetannock) 
and Norwich, writes the Society : " I have the satisfaction to 
inform your venerable Board that the ministry house in 
New London is nearly completed." Th>t the Church 
should have suffered from the delay of providing it with a 
minister, might naturally be expected, and, accordingly, the 
new missionary, when he came, wrote the Society : As for 
the people in New London, I am afraid they will never be 
reconciled to a regular minister. I despair, though I shall 
continue to act in the best manner I can for the glory of 
God and their edification. I cannot, from their behavior at 
church, conclude that ever they had an orthodox minister 
among them, as my manner of performing seems strange to 
them." He expresses a doubt whether they wanted him. 
This is, certainly, not a very complimentary account of his 
flock. Their neighbor, Mr. Punderson, seems, however, to 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



41 



have thought better of them, and accounted them rather 
exemplary for patience and perseverance. He says of 
them : " They are a generous, good sort of people, and they 
continue firm and unshaken." 

The missionary whom the Society sent was the Rev. 
Matthew Graves, an Englishm.an ; tradition says, a native 
of the Isle of Man. He was the only minister in Connecti- 
cut that was not a son of the soil, and, for this reason, seems 
never to have exactly understood his ground, or united very 
cordially w^ith his brethren. He was always one by himself, 
and always had views and projects of his own. Mr. Graves' 
ministry in New London was long, extending from the time 
of his appointment till it ended abruptly amidst the turmoil 
of the Revolution. He was brother to the Rev. John 
Graves, of Providence, a man of superior force and distinc- 
tion, of whom Mr. Hempstead, a Congregationalist, in an 
ancient diary which has been preserved, speaks, where he 
says : " I went to the Church to hear Mr. Graves' brother, a 
famous man." Mr. Graves never married. A maiden sis- 
ter, Joanna, lived with him and kept his house, and, during 
his whole ministry at New London, they inhabited the house 
built on the gro nd given by Mr. Edgecomb to the Propa- 
gation Society. His income was very limited, for the 
stipend allowed him. by the Society w^as small, and the addi- 
tion to it by the parish made it, at the most, a bare suffici- 
ency. They were at times, tradition informs us, reduced to 
straits. On one occasion, the story goes, when Miss Graves 
informed her brother in the morning that there was not 
provision for the day, and no means to procure any, and 
was silenced by her brother with the words, " The Lord 
will provide," the want was supplied by a fish-hawk, that, in 
fl3ang over wath a fish in his talons, lost hold of his prey, and 
dropped it directly at the back door of the parsonage. On 
a pane of glass in the north window of the guest-chamber, 



42 



ST. y A MESS, NEW LOXDON. 



was written with a diamond, in a fair, round hand, with 
remarkable distinctness and precision, the text, " Thou art 
careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is 
needful," the last word written in larger characters, with a 
line drawn below the words one thing." This is said to 
hav-e been written by the Rev. John Graves, who, probably, 
on some visit to Xew London, found his sister Joanna, not 
unlikely something of a Martha, anxious and disturbed by 
the scantiness of her means of housekeeping, and adminis- 
tered to her, in this way, a gentle rebuke. The glass was 
removed when the house passed out of the possession of the 
parish, and is still preserved. 

The brothers were of the ^Methodistical school, which, 
under the labors of the Wesleys and AVhitheld, had a little 
before sprung up in the Church of England, and revived 
the enfeebled piety of the Established Church, but had not 
yet resulted in a schism ; and ^slatthew is famed as a friend 
of the saintly Fletcher of ^^ladeley. Of the man it is some- 
what difficult to form a very satisfactory estimate. He 
appears very differently as seen from different points of view. 
His numerous extant letters to the Society, in which he seems 
to have uttered his thoughts and feelings with remarkable 
freedom, might seem to reveal him to us satisfactorily ; and 
yet they do not very well agree with the reminiscences of 
him which lingered among aged people long after his depart- 
ure, and down to a comparatively recent day. His letters 
set him before us as a choleric, petulant, irritable, hot- 
headed, hasty, and captious man, prone to speak his opinions 
of men and things without reserve, and without due care 
and caution ; speaking of his people, and even of individu- 
als by name, with harshness, and in terms closely bordering 
upon abuse, charging his brethren Vv-ith gross offences and 
*'dark intrigues, a sort of clerical Ishmaelite." But the 
traditions of the parish represent him as an honest and 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



43 



earnest man, kind, friendly, and social, of genial ^yays, 
familiar and simple-hearted, a little gossipy perhaps, run- 
ning about among his parishioners after a very unceremo- 
nious fashion, always active and ready for service, and sin- 
cerely liked if not profoundly respected. Xo doubt both 
portraits are true, and justly represent the same man in his 
different phases. If he v\-as a ]^Janx man, his incongruities 
are fairly traceable to his Celtic extraction. He was pious, 
devoted, and zealous, having a good deal of missionary 
feeling, not confining his labors to New London, but spread- 
ing them over a wide extent of territory, and going to 
distant places to preach the Gospel. But the truth is, the 
Englishman was never entirely at home among the Yankees, 
lay or clerical. He annoyed them, and they him. He felt 
the want of adaptation, and in one of his letters asks to be 
transferred to South Carolina. He says, I h'ope they will 
in mercy remove me to South Carolina, where I hope to 
give more satisfaction than it is possible that any European 
can in New England." Yet, at times, he speaks of his suc- 
cess, and, in 1761, writes : " Blessed be God, my parishioners 
increase, so that I am amazed to think whence they come ; 
several have lately been added, not only externally, but 
practically : they are doers as well as hearers, and those of 
the better sort ; to whom, I trust in God, others now under 
preparation will soon be joined." But the poor man was 
then drawing near to the ''troublous times," in which his 
ministry in New London disastrously ended, and, soon 
after, his life. He was not a very strenuous Churchman. 
Mr. Updike, in his History of the Narraganset Church, 
says, quoting a letter: ''He has lately given great offence to 
his brethren and us, by being officious in the settling a 
Dissenting teacher in New London, and injudicious enough 
to be present at his ordination." " He frequently united im 
worship with Christians of other names," says Miss Caulkins. 



44 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



The Rev. Eliphalet Adams, my great, great-grandfather, in 
a sermon on the death of his wife, which is extant in print, 
observes : The Rev. 2^Ir. Graves prayed with us again and 
again, with much sympathy ; " and I have in my possession 
a little book on sundry practical religious topics, in which 
is written, in a bold, strong hand, it is supposed by Mr. 
Adams, The gift of the Rev. ^Matthew Graves, to his friend, 
Pygan Adams, January 24, 1758." Pygan Adams was a son 
of the Rev. Eliphalet, and a Congregational deacon. It is 
evident, from these facts, that Mr. Graves' relations to his 
Congregational neighbors were of the most friendly and 
cordial character. 

Nev/ London was then but small, the settlement being 
chiefly confined to the vicinity of the waters bordering 
upon it. It stretched in an irregular crescent or segment 
of a circle, the centre of which was the old meeting-house — 
in those days it would have been an offence to call it a 
church — along the shore from the old Winthrop House, 
where Governor Winthrop had dwelt, along the shore by 
Water street, as it was then called. Beach street or the 
Beach, across the foot of State street, and then by Bank 
street to Truman's Brook and Cape Ann lane, where the 
second band of colonists, that came from Cape Ann, Mass., 
had planted themselves, and permanently enstamped their 
name. The Cove, familiarly called the Down-town Cove, 
now pretty much filled up and obliterated, crossed this line 
just above what used to be called the Long Bridge, but which 
is now fast losing the character of a bridge altogether. 
Within the horns of this ere recent lay the town, its rugged 
face seamed v\-ith granite ledges and miry morasses, the rudi- 
ments of streets crossing it here and there with an utter 
contempt of plan or system. Over this space v\-ere scattered 
the parishioners of Mr. Graves, loyal subjects of King 
George, and faithful lieges of the Bishop of London, com- 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



45 



prising among them much of the elite of the society of the 
day. Among them went in and out, in his daily walks of 
duty, the testy but kind-hearted pastor, familiarly known as 
Parson Graves, for the long period of more than thirty years. 
Mr. Graves was a short, thick-set man, of an ungainly 
figure, with a disproportionally large body and very short 
limbs. One of the stories told of him is that, on one occa- 
sion, attempting to drive aivay a large hog that had intruded 
upon his premises — a creature for which he had a special 
aversion — the frightened animal ran between his legs, and, 
lifting him from the ground, carried him off upon its back, 
to the infinite amusement of the beholders. As he grew 
older, he became corpulent, and was haunted with the fear 
of apoplexy. In one of his latest letters he says : Two 
disorders besiege my body, and threaten immediate dissolu- 
tion to mortality, — apoplexy and epilepsy. Oh, 'tis dread- 
ful to be hurled in a moment into eternity, to be tolerably 
well,. and anon, perhaps, in unquenchable flames, from which 
Good Lord deliver us." These forebodings, so far at least 
as the temporal result is concerned, were fulfilled, since 
tradition reports that he fell dead, during the Revolution, 
in New York, while officiating in old St. George's, Beekman 
street, and was buried there. 

About the time of Mr. Graves' coming to New London, 
the name of V/inthrop makes its appearance in the records 
of St. James's, and henceforvv'ard the descendants of the 
leader of the first Puritan colonv at New London, residinsr 
there or elsewhere, have been Churchmen, so far as I can 
ascertain, without exception. When or how the transforma- 
tion took place is not known in the family itself. 

Soon John Still Winthrop is a pew owner, has leave to 
build himself a pew, leave to cut a window in his pew, and 
continues a vestryman of the parish for many years. So the 
records testify. He derived his name from John Still, 



46 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Bishop of Bath and Wells, who was an ancestor of his 
mother. The accession must have added a good deal to 
the strength and dignity of the ps-rish, for the name of John 
Winthrop was held in high respect, and the Winthrops had, 
by universal consent, been allowed a certain social and 
aristocratic superiority. The truth seems to be that they 
had never been rigid Puritans, nor participated much in the 
Puritan hatred of the Church of England. John Winthrop, 
the elder, the Governor of Massachusetts, came from Gro- 
ton, Suffolk, in England, where the family had long resided 
and held a prominent place among the gentry of the vicin- 
age. His father, Adam Winthrop, was lord of the manor. 
There they attended the parish church, and many of them 
were buried within the sacred walls. He was one of the 
company that came to New England in the "Arbella," in 
1630. This company, in a parting address to their brethren 
in and of the Church of England, says : We esteem it an 
honor to call the Church of England, from whence we ^-ise, 
our dear mother, and cannot part from our native country, 
where she specially resideth, without much sadness of heart 
and many tears in our eyes, ever acknowledging that such 
hope and part as we have obtained in the common salvation^ 
we have received it in her bosom, and sucked it from her 
breasts. We leave it, therefore, not as loathing that milk 
wherewith we were nourished there, but blessing God for 
the parentage and education, as members of the same body^ 
shall always rejoice in her good, and unfeignedly grieve for 
any sorrow that shall ever betide her ; and, while we have 
breath, sincerely desire and endeavor the continuance and 
abundance of her welfare, with the enlargement of her 
bounds in the kingdom^ of Christ Jesus.'' In such sentiments 
there is little of Puritan acerbity and intolerance. Sir 
Richard Saltonstall was another of this company, and a 
signer of this document. His son was the Rev. Gurdon 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



47 



Saltonstall of New London, afterward Governor Saltonstall 
of Connecticut. And it is not strange to find that, when 
Keith and Talbot made their visit to New London, in 1702, 
Mr. Saltonstall expressed his good affection toward the 
Church of England," and Colonel Vrinthrop courteously- 
invited them to dine with him. The descendant and biog- 
rapher of Governor Wintlirop, the Hon. Robert C. AVinthrop, 
says of him : " He had been an humble but faithful vv^orship- 
per at Groton Church, and had never renounced the com- 
munion of his fathers. And when Roger Williams, on his 
arrival in the colony, refused to join with the congregation 
at Boston, his first ground was that they would not make a 
public declaration of their repentance for having commun- 
ion with the Churches of England while they lived there." 
This kindly feeling toward the mother Church continued in 
the family ; and when an Episcopal church was built at New 
London, and a minister established there, they swung back 
into the old moorings as by a natural and irresistible attrac- 
tion. 

It would be pleasant here to give some account of 
Samuel Edgecomb, the donor of the parsonage lot, and the 
earliest benefactor of St. James's Church ; but a few facts 
are all that remain, and a meagre and scanty notice is all, 
therefore, that can be given. Samuel Edgecomb was the 
son of John Edgecomb. Sir Richard Edgecomb was the 
owner of a large tract of land in Maine, on the Saco River 
and Casco Bay, which he held by a grant from Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges. It is supposed that John Edgecomb of New 
London was his grandson ; but this is little more than con- 
jecture. Samuel Edgecomb was the owner of a piece of 
land on the west side of Main street, extending from about 
the corner of Federal street to the south line of the parson- 
age lot, through which Church street was afterward laid 
out, and in which the second Episcopal church was built. 



48 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW L OND ON. 



The tract was familiarly knovv^ in the olden time as the 
Edgecomb lots.- Mr. Edgecomb was either a warden or 
vestryman of the parish for many successive years, and his 
name deserves to be remembered in its annals with grati- 
tude and honor. 

About the year 1740, a dispute seems to have arisen 
between the parish and the town about the extent of the 
church lot toward the east, and the town was thought to 
have encroached by laying out a highway over ground 
which the Church claimed as its property. At a meeting 
held March 30, 1741, it was voted "that said committee," 
consisting, as appears by a preceding entry, of Thomas 
Mumford, Matthew Stewart, John Shackmaple, Samuel 
Edgecomb, and Joseph Power, " treat with the town of New 
London concerning an equivalent for the land eastward of 
the church, which said town has laid out as an highway; 
and if they meet not with satisfaction, to fence said land for 
a churchyard, and to prosecute the trespass, if any should 
be committed." Of the farther prosecution of the dispute 
and its issue we learn nothing from the records. It is pre- 
sumed that some satisfactory adjustment was reached. It 
is pretty certain that no churchyard was laid out, and if the 
parish abandoned its claim to the town, we know not 
whether it received any equivalent. The records contain 
no account of any. 

In 1 741, a petition from the minister and churchwardens 
of the Episcopal Church in New London was presented 
"unto the charitably disposed," asking assistance to defray 
the expenses of having the bell of the church recast and 
enlarged, "by accident the bell of the church having be- 
come useless." In response to this petition, a pretty liberal 
subscription was obtained, not only from Church people, 
but from others, and, apparently, from some who were not 
inhabitants of the town. -^But^the work went on slowly, as 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



49 



indeed the dilatory character of every movement in the 
affairs of the parish in those days seems to be a distinctive 
feature of the times. Probably the scarcity of money and 
the want of facilities for various kinds of labor sufficiently 
account for these delays. The records are somewhat ob- 
scure and disconnected, but it does not appear that the new 
bell was procured till 1755. It is not easy, with such 
records as remain, to trace the precise order of events. 

In 1754, a subscription was raised ''toward the repairing 
and mending of the Episcopal church in Xew London." 
On this subscription John Still Winthrop was much the 
largest subscriber; and in connection with this work the 
recastino; of the bell is distinctlv mentioned. That the bell 
was recast in the subscription of 1741, and now again in 
1754, is possible, but by no means probable. It is more 
likely that the design had lingered on unfulfilled, till it was 
again taken up as part of a larger system of repairs, and at 
last completed. Miss Caulkins says a clock was added at 
this time ; but of this I find no trace in the records, only as, 
years after, a vote was passed, ordering, in connection with 
other items of reparation and improvement, a " new case 
for the clock," — indicating certainly the prior existence of 
such an appendage. The same year, 1754, it was also 
voted and agreed that a well be dug and made upon land 
belonging to the parsonage ; " but this, too, was but tardily 
accomplished, for it was not till some years after that the 
parsonage was provided with that deep well of cool, sv\-eet, 
and unfailing water, which has ever since been the resource 
and resort of the neighborhood in seasons of drought, and is 
in the memory of the last rector that inhabited the premises 
like the water of the well of Bethlehem " in the youthful 
recollections of King David. Along between the years that 
intervened between ^Ir. Graves' coming and the breaking 
out of the Revolution, various Votes are recorded, having 
3 



50 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



reference to the erection, alteration, and transfer of pews, 
and changes of one kind and another in the edifice ; but, as 
their general import and purpose was to obtain additional 
room, they seem to indicate the gradual increase and growth 
of the congregation, and go to justify somewhat Mr. Graves' 
hyperbolical statement in his letter of 1761, that his flock 
grew so, that he knew not whence they came. Some of 
these entries, with our imperfect knowledge of the building, 
are difficult to understand. A gallery is spoken of, and 
pews in it. There is a vote to move the pulpit to a place 
where it would occupy less room, and another to close the 
south door, of which no mention is made in the contract 
w^ith Mr. Hough, in order, it might seem, that the passage 
from it into the church, which interrupted the line of pews 
on the south side, might be filled wdth three pews, and that 
either end of the communion-pew, by which was doubtless 
meant the space railed in around the communion-table, 
might be cut off, so as to be on a line w^ith the columns 
beyond which it had previously projected, without disturb- 
ing the rail in front, in order that space for a pew on either 
side might be gained. John Still Winthrop has leave given 
him to build one of these pews, — that on the north side ; 
and, later on, to cut a window in his pew, for the advantage^ 
no doubt, of light and air. A fuller account of these trans- 
actions would convey no valuable information. What is 
put down exhibits a prosperous and advancing congrega- 
tion, growing in favor with man, and, we may trust, with 
God. 

Among the names prominent in the parish in this period 
of its history, is that of Palmes. Guy Palmes and Edward 
Palmes are frequently mentioned in the transactions of the 
parish, and were both members of its vestry, and both held, 
at times, the office of warden. Edward Palmes, the father 
of Guy, came from New Haven, and married Lucy Win- 



sr. y A MESS, NEW LOKDON. 



51 



throp, a daughter of the first Governor. He divelt in the 
stone house at the mill," which was the original "Winthrop 
House, and was given by the Cxovernor, who first dwelt in it, 
to his daughter Lucy. Guy Palmes was the son of Edward 
Palmes ist, and Edward Palmes was his grandson, the son 
of his son Andrew. They were men of characier and stand- 
ing, prominent in the public affairs and in the business of 
the town, and thus early were adherents and supporters of 
St. James's Church. The stone house stood on the east 
side of Winthrop's Cove, near its head. 

In 1767, it was voted '^that there be a lean-to or addi- 
tion built to the parsonage house, now possessed by the 
Rev. ]Mr. Graves, on the west side of said house, thirty-nine 
feet long and twelve feet wide, one story high." This reso- 
lution was carried into effect, we know not with what expe- 
dition. But the lean-to still remains a part of the house; 
and, more recently, rooms have been built over it, which 
raise it to the height of the body of the building. The 
same year it was also voted " that the gentlemen proprietors 
of the fire-engine have liberty to build a lean-to adjoining 
the north side of the belfry of the said church, to cover, 
keep, and secure said engine in, they, the proprietors, to 
build and finish it in a neat and decent manner, and to stand 
and continue during the pleasure of said society." In 1770, 
it was voted that John ]\Iorris be appointed clerk of said 
parish, to sett the Psalms." There is no earlier mention of 
a clerk, nor of any provision for music ; but it is probable 
that the usage of English parish churches had all along 
been observed. Afterward, a portion of the gallery was 
assigned to provide seats for the singers. In 1764, at the 
same time that Mr. Winthrop has leave to cut a window for 
himself, there is the vote ''to case the clock new" in the 
steeple, — the proof already alluded to that there was a clock. 
There seems still to have been some dispute as to the 



52 



ST. JAMES'' S, A^EW LONDON, 



extent of the church lot; and, m 1769, a committee was 
appomted to fix the bounds of the church lands adjoining 
the church, and to treat with the selectmen on the affair. 
In 1773, Samuel Powers had leave, "at his own expense, 
over his pew to make a window, conformable to that in 
Mr. Winthrop's pew." These extracts bring us down to 
the verge of those disastrous days, when the Episcopal 
Church in this country, so intimately interwoven with the 
institutions of the mother country, and so dependent upon 
her Established Church, it might seem for her very life, was 
to encounter the fearful strain of the Revolution, and be 
saved from utter ruin only through the gracious interpo- 
sition of Providence, ''so as by fire." It could hardly be 
expected that St. James's, New London, with her English 
minister, her English origin, and her large indebtedness to 
English aid, could enjoy an exemption from the full fury of 
the strife. She /did not; and yet to her praise it maybe 
said, without reflecting at all upon good men who thought 
differently, and acted upon their honest and conscientious 
convictions, to their tem.poral loss and sorrow, that out of 
her arose some of the firmest and most active friends of the 
national cause in New London. Even now the surface of 
the placid waters began to be ruffled with those rippling 
waves which, in their rapidly-quickening circles, were soon 
to become a whirlpool, in vdiose hungry vortex many a fair 
and goodly thing vv^as to be svrallowed up and disappear. 
But, before entering upon those days of dread, it may not 
be amiss to diversify our narrative with some farther 
accounts of men and families who had come to hold a 
prominent and influential place in her affairs. 

In this period just preceding the Revolution, the name 
of Jonathan Starr appears first in the records, destined to 
become more closely identified with the parish, and more 
lastingly conspicuous in its affairs than any other in its 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



53 



annals ; extending through three successive generations, so 
as to be almost hereditary in its wardenship, and marked 
always for worth and usefulness. The family is ancient in 
the town, and the Christian name of Jonathan has been 
borne by five generations in succession. It has been very 
remarkable for longevity. Eight of the children of the 
first Jonathan lived to be eighty, and one of his daughters 
attained a hundred. In the family of the second Jonathan, 
the father, mother, and four children averaged ninety-five ; 
his mother was ninety-nine, and the wife of his father's 
brother reached a hundred. The second Jonathan, the first 
in our parish, married Mary Seabury, a sister of the first 
minister, and an aunt of the bishop. He was warden of 
the parish before the Revolution, and lived on till 1795, 
when he died at the age of ninety. The name still survives 
in the parish, in the fifth generation. The name of Fosdick 
is of frequent occurrence in the ante-Revolutionary period. 
Little is known of it, except that the ancestor of the family, 
Samuel Fosdick, came from Charlestown, Mass., in 1680. 
His descendants were early connected with St. James's 
Church, and some of them held ofiice in it. The family 
name has disappeared, though some of his descendants, 
bearing other names, remain. Joseph Chew, before the 
Revolution, had begun to take an active part in the afi'airs 
of the congregation. Joseph and Samuel Chew, brothers, 
came from Virginia. They were of an ancient Virginia 
family, cousins of Bishop Madison, who was the father of 
James Madison, President of the United States, and also of 
Zachary Taylor, the father of General Zachary Taylor. 
They were men of standing and influence. Joseph Chew 
built the house since known as the Sistare House, — a house 
that, in its style and character, was much superior to the 
ordinary character of New England houses of that day, 
and v/hich, when faded and gone to decay, still bore traces 



54 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



of ancient grandeur. In the unhappy strife of the Revolu- 
tion, the brothers parted, as was the case with many fami- 
lies. Joseph ■ sided with the King, went to Canada, and 
died there. Samuel was a Whig ; his family continued here, 
and the name is not yet lost from among us. In 1768, an 
event occurred which, though it is not known to have 
exerted any important influence on the affairs of the 
Church, must have drawn much attention to it, and, 
perhaps, might have operated more in its favor, had not 
the minds of men been becoming a^bsorbed in the mighty 
political discussions which were beginning to dwarf all 
others into insignificance. The pastor of the Congrega- 
tional Church at that time was the Rev. Mather Byles, Jr., 
son of the celebrated Rev. Mather Byles, D.D., of Boston, 
of whom so many witticisms have been handed down. He 
was a brilliant and popular man. " The people," says Miss 
Caulkins, "were charmed almost to fascination with his 
eloquence," and though he seems to have been somewhat 
grand and lordly in his ways, his people were proud of him, 
and he dwelt with them in harmony and peace. Suddenly, 
much to their amazement and chagrin, in April, 1768, he 
announced that he had become a convert to " the ritual of 
the Church of England," and asked a dismission from his 
charge. He left ; and his change was soon an affair of 
notoriety in New England. Lampoons were written, and 
songs sung. The steps that led to so remarkable a change 
are unknown. He was a near neighbor of Mr. Graves, 
living almost opposite the parsonage, and it is possible there 
had been communication v/ith him on the subject. But all 
traces of these remote events have now grown faint. Mr. 
Byles went to England and got Orders. He exercised his 
ministry in Boston until the Revolution, when he went away, 
with many other royalists, to the loyal British provinces, 
where he was rector of a church in St. John, New Bruns- 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON: 



55 



wick, and survived till 1814. Two sisters of his, vener- 
able maidens, resided in Boston to an advanced age. True 
to their political faith to the last, they had an arm-chair 
surmounted by a crown, and were wont to practise the 
harmless joke of seating their visitors in it, and telling them 
they were under the crown. A grandson of Mr. Byles, the 
Rev. William A. Des Brisay, is a presbyter of Connecticut, 
and rector of the church in New Canaan. It is not known 
that this change of Mr. Byles had any effect on the interests 
of St. James's Church. It is not in human nature that such 
a change should not have been felt and regarded with feel- 
ings of triumph and exultation. But men were beginning 
to writhe under British misrule and oppression. The old 
hatred of the Church of England was sharpened by efforts 
to obtain a bishop. Episcopacy was becoming more and 
more unpopular. St. James's went on her way, getting 
ready for her baptism of fire. 

In 1775, the regular parish meeting was h olden on 
Easter Monday, and Thomas Allen and John Deshon 
chosen churchwardens. There was no choice of officers 
again till 1779. During the most, if not all, of the interven«- 
ing time, the services seem to have been intermitted. 

The history of this period is obscure and imperfect, 
Mr. Graves remained in , New London, and continued to 
occupy the parsonage, and, doubtless, to discharge such 
official functions as were needed, but held no public ser- 
vices. The public odium, the increasing bitterness of 
political sentiment, and the division of opinion in his own 
congregation, joined to his own unbending sense of duty, 
which would not let him yield to solicitations of interest or 
appeals of affection, led him to the conclusion that retire- 
ment and silence were for him the path of prudence and of 
usefulness. An outspoken and impulsive man, restraint 
must have been hard for him ; but we hear of nothing done 



56 



ST. JAMES'S, A^EW LONDON. 



or said by him to exacerbate displeasure or inflame 
hatred. There is no evidence that the church was closed 
by any formal action of the parish. It was probably acqui- 
esced in as the dictate of ordinary prudence and a sort of 
moral necessity. In the heated atmosphere of the times, 
religion of any form sunk to a low ebb. The fruit of 
righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace/* 
and, in turmoil and contention about worldly interests, there 
was little room in men's minds for concern about things 
unseen. The period of the Revolution was a period of 
great religious deadness. The parish meeting of August 17^ 
1775, was adjourned to August 25th; but the adjourned 
meeting was never held ; at least there is no record of it. 
A meeting was held November 14, 1778. What led to it is 
not known. We may conjecture that the fact that several 
of the Episcopal clergy had, by this time, found a way to 
reconcile their consciences w^ith the omission of the prayer 
for the king, had awakened a hope that Mr. Graves might 
be induced to follow their examples, and put an end to the 
unhappy stoppage. 

At that meeting, this resolution was introduced : 
" Voted, that no persons be permitted to enter the church, 
and as a pastor to it, unless he openly prays for Congress 
and the free and independent States of America, and their 
prosperity by sea and land; if so, he may be admitted 
to-morrow, being Sunday, 15th November." On putting the 
resolution to vote, it appeared that there were fourteen in 
the affirmative and eleven in the negative ; and then, as there 
were four votes challenged and rejected on the one side, 
and one on the other, it left the vote a tie ; still, the affirm- 
ative sense of the congregation had been pretty distinctly 
given. But the meeting went on to " vote that the 
churchwardens wait on the Rev. Mr. Graves, and let 
him know of the foregoing vote, and if it be agreeable to 



57: JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



57 



him, he may reenter the Church of St. James's, and offi- 
ciate as pastor thereof, he praying and conforming to said 
vote." 

The churchwardens fulfilled their duty, and made this 
report : " Agreeably to the above, we, the churchwardens, 
waited on the Rev. Mr. Graves, and acquainted him of the 
resolution of the parishioners, to which he replied, that he 
could not comply therewith." The churchwardens who 
signed this report were Thomas Allen and John Deshon, 
both stanch Whigs. The Sunday came, however, and Mr. 
Graves, perhaps encouraged or urged by injudicious friends, 
determined to brave the consequences, and read the service 
with the obnoxious prayers. The result was a painful and 
disgraceful scene, which put a speedy end to his ministry 
in New London, and, perhaps, expedited his death. The 
accounts, depending upon the testimony of aged persons 
who were eye-witnesses of the sad occurrence, are somewhat 
confused and contradictory; but certain facts may be 
extracted out of them about which there can be no reason- 
able doubt. A party of Whigs stationed themselves at the 
door, one in the porch, with the bell-rope in his hand. The 
service went on quietly till Mr. Graves began the offensive 
prayer. Then the bell was sounded, and the patriotic com- 
pany rushed in. Two brothers, Thomas and David Mum- 
ford, strong, athletic men, entered the desk. In the rage 
against Toryism, some outrage upon the minister's person 
might have been perpetrated ; but two resolute women of 
the congregation cam^e to the rescue. He escaped up Brad- 
ley street, and, tradition says, was received into the house of 
John Deshon, and sheltered from the violence of the mob. 
Among the faded reminiscences of a time now ancient, it is 
impossible to ascertain which are authentic. But it appears 
that Mr. Graves continued, after this unfortunate affair, in 
New London till the latter part of the following summer, 



58 



ST. JAMES'S, XEW LOXDON. 



when he was sent, under a flag of truce, to Xew York, and 
died suddenly, April 5, 1780. 

In September, 1779, the wardens were empowered to let 
the parsonage, which had been rendered vacant by the 
departure of ]^Ir. Graves. On the 13th of January, 1780, 
the parish met, in order to answer the petition of the " Pres- 
byterians," requesting "leave for their pastor to officiate 
there " — that is, in St. James's Church — " on Sundays dur- 
ing the severe season of winter," and the folloAving consent- 
ient reply was given : " Voted, that the Rev. ]\Ir. \Vm. 
Adams has leave to officiate in said church during the cold 
season and the pleasure of the Church." The Congrega- 
tionalists are here called Presbyterians, a usage very com- 
mon in familiar speech in former days. It is presumed that 
]Mr. Adams and his people availed themselves of this per- 
mission, and so St. James's Church was the scene of Con- 
gregational worship, perhaps till it was consumed by nre. 
The old Congregational meeting-house stood in a very bler^k 
and exposed situation, and had become dilapidated. It had, 
at the time, no settled pastor. The Rev. William Adams, a 
son of their former minister, officiated as their stated supply. 
But the parish were not willing to be altogether deprived of 
the services of the sanctuary according to the worship of 
their own Church; for, on the 25th of January, only twelve 
days after thus acceding to the request of their neighbors, 
at another meeting it was ''voted, that the churchwardens 
call on the Rev. ^Ir. Tyler, of Norwich, to officiate in the 
church, or any other gentleman that will officiate as he does, 
respecting the prayers, — as ^Ir. Lewis or Mr. Parker of 
Boston, or ]^Ir. Freeman." And, April 16, 1781, it was 
'' voted, that the Wardens call on some Rev^ gentleman to 
officiate in the Church of St. James — i,e. — as Rev. ^Ir. Jarvis 
or ]slr. Hubbard does." 

The Revolution and the Independence of the United 



V 

ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



59 



States were becoming more and more fixed facts as time 
rolled on, and the clergy were driven to the necessity of 
seeking compromises — we use the w^ord in no disrespectful or 
condemnatory sense — to reconcile the obligation of their 
ordination vows, and, no doubt, also their political predilec- 
tions, in many instances, with the exigencies of their posi- 
tion as citizens and as pastors. Some man who was ready 
to conform to some method of this sort, St. James's wanted, 
that the warring convictions and feelings that were strug- 
gling within its bosom might unite in a common service, and 
worship God in peace. Such a man does not seem to have 
been found ; and the catastrophe that was then at hand, in 
which their temple was to perish, and leave them without a 
church, as they were already without a minister, put an end 
to the desire and the effort. That the questions of duty 
should have arisen and been so fiercely agitated, may seem 
to us, with St. Paul's dictum— " The powers that be are 
ordained of God " — before us, strange; but so thought not 
many conscientious and excellent men of that time, to whom 
the conflicting claims of allegiance and the obligation of 
vows, which a change of circumstances had made imprac- 
ticable, presented a practical difficulty of which they could 
find no easy solution. It was the question that had 
troubled the English non-jurors and the Scottish Epis- 
copalians after the downfall of the Stuarts, and that 
tortured the consciences of many worthy clergymen in our 
late lamentable civil war; men that wished to know their 
duty, and would do it at all hazards, if they did but know 
what it was. We cannot speak harshly of men who felt 
themselves bound by what we may regard as obsolete obli- 
gations, like Bancroft, Ken, and Seabury, Beach and Graves ; 
nor condemn, as time-serving trimmers, men like White, 
Jarvis, Parker, and Hubbard. No doubt, all deserve honor 
for. their conscientiousness, and have it in the sight of God. 



6o 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



It seems that either Miss Graves had not accompanied her 
brother to New York, or had returned ; for, in the meeting 
of January 25, 1780, it was "voted, that Miss Joanna 
Graves has liberty to enter the Parsonage House after the 
29th of August next, and enjoy one bedroom and one 
lower until a minister is called." Poor lady! before the 
time • specified, an event had taken place which had de- 
stroyed her capacity to enjoy any place in New London 
much. Whether she ever availed herself of the privilege 
granted her, is unknown. Tradition tells us that she ulti- 
mately went to Providence, where her brother John was 
minister, and there ended her days. At any rate, in the 
meeting of April 16, 1781, it was " voted, that the Parson- 
age House be rented out, always giving the preference to 
one of the proprietors of the Church of St. James ; " and,, 
also, that Captain David Mumford has the preference to 
"hire the Parsonage, he giving equal, rent to another per- 
son." On April 25, 1781, a meeting was held, the record 
of which is like the expiring sigh of our first church; for 
then there is a silence, till, in the fall, we hear of the gather- 
ing up and sale of the remnants that remained after the fire. 
At the same meeting, it was "voted, that the Church War- 
dens be directed to use the most speedy and legal means to 
get Mr. Guy Richards out of the Parsonage House, and to 
lease it to Captain David Mumford for one year, according 
to the former votes, always subjected to three months' 
warning." But now the great calamity came that laid 
waste her holy place, and left her forlorn and desolate 
•indeed. On the 6th of September, 1781, New London was 
burned by the British forces under the lead of Benedict 
Arnold, — the traitor Arnold, as he is commonly called ; and 
where could that name be applied to him more appropriately 
and feelingly than in New London 1 for he was born and 
reared in the county, was personally known to many of the 



ST. JAMES'' NEW LONDON. 



6i 



citizens, and had often partaken of their hospitalities ; and 
if, as is said, he sat cahnly and at his dinner in a house on 
the elevated ground back of the town, from which he could 
look down and gloat over the devastation which his ruthless 
resentment was producing, he may well be paralleled with 
Nero, fiddling while Rome was in flames. To enter into 
the details of this invasion, vv ould be aside from the purpose 
of this book ; only so much may be said as is necessary to 
make it well understood. The British force, largely made 
up, it is said, of American loyalists, landed in two divisions, 
one on either side of the Thames. That on the eastern 
side attacked and conquered Fort Griswold, and put its 
defenders to the sword. The western detachment marched 
around the rear of the town, and entered it from the north. 
After firing a shot through my grandfather's front door, they 
marched through the town, following the course of the 
shore, and setting fire as they went. At the wharves con- 
nected with the beach, now AVater street, then a sand-spit, 
within which the waters found their way at the north end, 
lay the shipping; and among the vessels, several prizes that 
had been taken from the enemy by privateers, and which 
were special objects of vengeance. At the upper end of the 
beach, the troops diverged from ^Main street, and passed 
along the wharves, burning as they went, to the foot of 
State street, where the parade was, and the church stood. 
In consequence, the space on ]^Iain street, betv\-een Hallam 
and State streets, escaped injury; and, as the parsonage 
was within these limits, it was not involved in the conflagra- 
tion, and remains a firm and comfortable dwelling. But the 
church was burned, whether by special design or accidental 
communication from other buildings is not known ; at least, 
it does not appear that any eftbrt was made to exempt or 
save it. It might be supposed that some efl*ort would be 
made to secure an English church. Such Avas the case at 



62 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



Danbury, where the contents of the building (the x\merican 
army had used it for a storehouse) were carefully removed 
and consumed on the green, and the church left unhurt. 
But St. James's was of doubtful loyalty. The predominant 
influence in it was with the country. Some of the foremost 
Whigs of the time were among its worshippers. Mr. Graves 
had been summarily ejected. There was no mercy for it; 
and if it had been possible to save it, there was no disposi- 
tion to exercise forbearance toward it. The destruction 
was complete. Not a shred or vestige of the edifice was 
left ; naught was there but smouldering ashes and the 
graves of the quiet slumberers, whom no din of assault 
or glare of flame could awake from their long last sleep. 
So perished the first St. James's, where men first in New 
London sought to w^orship the God of their fathers after a 
way which some called heresy. It never was consecrated ; 
for, in those days, there was none to exercise Episcopal 
functions on this side of the Atlantic ; and the Bishop of 
London, to whom the jurisdiction nominally belonged, had 
little thought of crossing "the great and wide sea," to visit 
and care for his transatlantic wards. Like the other ante-^ 
revolutionary churches, it had no other consecration but 
that of sacred use. One brief, sad entry in the records 
finishes its history : 

1781, Oct. Sold the old iron, nails, &c., left of the Church of St. 
James after it was burnt, at vendue, to Wm Stewart, for £12^-2-1, credited 
on Mr. Stewart's book to the Church. 

It is gratifying to know that the Churchmen of New 
London were not disposed to sit supinely under their loss, 
and waste their time in barren lamentations over their mis- 
fortunes, and unprofitable despair in regard to the future. 
It is pleasant to see them bestirring themselves, at the 
earliest moment, with manly energy and determination to 



sr. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



63 



repair their loss, setting themselves about the work of erect- 
ing a house of God in place of that which the dire fortune 
of war had taken from them. Cast down, but not de- 
stroyed," was practically their motto. On Easter Monday, 
April 25, 1783, just as soon as the independence of the 
country was established and peace restored, their usual 
annual meeting was holden. Wm. Stewart, son of that 
Matthew whose remains lay beneath the relics of their 
former church, and Jonathan Starr, Jun., the second of that 
name, were chosen wardens, and it was voted, that Capt. 
John Deshon, Nichol Fosdick, Roswell Saltonstall, Giles 
Mumford, Joseph Packwood, Thomas Allen, James Penni- 
man, Ebenezer Goddard, Henry Truman, Dr. Samuel 
Brown, 'and Jesse Edgecomb, be a committee to join the 
churchwardens to solicit donations for building a new 
church, to treat with the selectmen of the town to see if the 
ground where the old church stood can be disposed of or 
exchanged for other ground suitable to erect the building 
on, and to get the plan of a church procured, and make re- 
port of their doings as soon as may be. " It was also voted, 
that the Church Wardens rent the Parsonage House for the 
highest rent it will fetch, always giving the preference to 
one of the parishioners, and that the house be repaired by 
the Wardens in the most frugal manner, and that all back 
rent be immediately collected, and the residue be appropri- 
ated as the Church shall direct." The following year, an 
offer of the Rev. John Graves, of Providence, brother of 
their late minister, to supply them with a clergyman, was 
declined, on the ground that they were destitute of a build- 
ing in which to celebrate the worship of Almighty God. 
The effort to provide such a building seems, meanwhile, 
though not relinquished, to have gone on slowly. Poverty, 
and the disheartenment that not unnaturally resulted from 
great losses that had fallen upon almost all by the fire, must 



64 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



have sadly impeded their efforts, and rendered their task 
slow and difficult. That the work dragged, is not so much 
to be wondered at as that, under the circumstances, it was 
projected. In 1784, a committee was appointed to ascer- 
tain on what terms a lot could be purchased from Mr. 
Edgecomb, or some other proprietor, on which to erect a 
church. It might seem, from this mention of Mr. Edge- 
comb, that their attention had begun to be directed to the 
lot which was finally settled on as the site of the church. 
In 1785, a subscription paper was drawn up and circulated^ 
but with Avhat result the records do not inform us. They 
also bethought themselves of looking for aid from abroad, 
and the following is a petition sent to Boston for help : 

The Episcopal Society of New London, being unfortunately deprived 
of their house of Divine Worship in the general conflagration of said 
town, in September, 1 78 1, are earnestly desirous of erecting a new House, 
howe'er sensible of thpir own feeble efforts, yet impressed with the neces- 
sity of the work, and trusting to the friendly assistance of their brethren 
abroad they are induced to make the attempt : not doubting but their 
laudable design will meet the kind patronage of all ranks of people, and 
thereby enable them once more to assemble and celebrate their Maker's 
praise in a House of Divine Worship, amidst which the effusions of a 
grateful heart w411 not be unmindful of the donor's tribute in promoting 
the reestablishment of their Sacred Dwelling. 

W. Stewart, \ 

JONA. Starr, i Wardens. 

Whether a similar petition was presented in other quar- 
ters, what was the effect of this, or whether external assist- 
ance came from any place, are questions for which the 
records supply no answer. At the same time, a subscrip- 
tion was circulated among the people themselves, " that all 
piously-disposed people may have an opportunity to contri- 
bute to the accomplishment of so commendable an under- 
taking." What amount was finally obtained from all sources 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



65 



does not appear. The records of this period, so important 
in the history of the parish, are, unfortunately, meagre and 
disconnected. We cannot ascertain from them where the 
lot for the new church \vas situated, or from whom it was 
purchased. But we know from the town records, however, 
that the land was part of that same Edgecomb property on 
which the parsonage was erected, and was bought of Samuel 
Edgecomb, the donor of the parsonage lot, then of the 
advanced age of ninety-three. It was but a scanty lot, 
lying now at the corner of jMain and Church streets, to the 
latter of which it gave its name, running back into what was 
then but a quagmire, and had little to recommend it, but 
that it was central and accessible. But it had no advantage 
of prospect, and was too limited in extent to admit of much 
embellishment. By whom this second edihce was built, or 
precisely how long it was in building, is not known. But in 
an entry dated November 21, 1786, it is spoken of as the 
" church now building," from which it is evident that it was 
not then completed ; yet the work must have been pretty 
far advanced, for, eight days after, Roswell Saltonstall and 
John Hertell are " added to the committee for laying out 
and valuing the pews." March 12, 1787, the committee for 
building the church of St. James are now authorized to 
agree with a proper person to finish the same, steeple 
excepted. John Bloyd, who had been sexton before the 
war, was continued in office. Preparations were evidently 
being made for the occupation of the church, and some time 
between April and August the happy consummation was 
reached, for, on the 17th September, the wardens were 
directed to execute a deed of dedication of the Church of 
St. James, in the following words, viz. : 

As Almiglity God has been pleased to put it into their hearts to build 
a new Church for the Celebration of His worship according to the liturgy 
of the Church of England, accommodated to the civil constitution of the 



66 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



State, and has, in the course of His providence, enabled them to com- 
plete it according to the best of their ability, it is their full purpose and 
earnest desire that the new Church, to be called St. James's Church, be 
dedicated to the worship and service of Almighty God, according to the 
liturg}^ of the Church of England aforesaid. 

We, therefore, the Church Wardens, Vestrymen, and Parishioners of 
the said Church, do, for us and our successors, dedicate, appropriate, give 
and grant the said Church by us erected, unto Almighty God our Heavenly 
Father, to be consecrated and used to His worship and service according 
to the liturgy aforesaid, divesting ourselves of all right and title, and 
disclaiming all authority to employ it hereafter to any common or profane 
use. And we, the Church Wardens, Vestrymen, and Parishioners afore- 
said, further resolve and vote that the two Church Wardens, Messrs. Jona- 
than Starr and Roswell Saltonstall, do, in our name and behalf, sign and 
seal this instrument of dedication, and do acquaint the Right Rev. Dr. 
Seabury, our Diocesan Bishop, therewith, and request that he would con- 
secrate the said new Church to Almighty God, and set it apart to be for- 
ever hereafter employed in His worship and service ; Promising, so far as 
in us lies, to take care of the affairs of said Church, that it be kept, 
together with its furniture, sacred utensils and books, in a decent state for 
the celebration of Divine service. And also that we will, as God shall 
enable us, endeavor always to procure and keep a man in Priest's Orders, 
to celebrate God's holy worship according to the liturgy aforesaid. 

In witness whereof we, the said Church Wardens, hereunto set our 
hands and seals the day and year above mentioned. 



Signed, sealed, and delivered 
in the presence of 

Gabriel Sistare, 
Roswell Saltonstall, Jr. 

The date of the consecration was September 20, 1787. 
Bishop Seabury performed the act of consecration. His 
sentence of consecration is here inserted : 

Be it known to all whom it may concern, that, on the 20th day of 
September, 1787, the above instrument of dedication was presented to us, 
the Bishop of Connecticut, at the Holy Table, by Mr. Jonathan Starr, the 



Jonathan Starr, Jr., 
Roswell Saltonstall, 



Wardens. 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



67 



Senior Church Warden, and openly read before the congregation there 
assembled; and that, in consequence thereof, the said new Church, 
called St. James's Church, was on that day duly consecrated and set apart 
for the celebration of the worship and service of Almighty God forever. 

In witness whereof we have hereunto affixed our Episcopal seal, the 
day and year above written, and in the fourth year of our Consecration. 

[Seal.] 

There is no signature nor any reference to one in the 
instrument. Probably the episcopal seal was accounted a 
sufficient attestation. That seal, brought by the Bishop from 
England, is still in being, and used in the Diocese of Con- 
necticut. This was one of the earliest consecrations in the 
country; I know of none earlier. The churches built 
before the Revolution were never consecrated. The proper 
officer to discharge that function Avas Y\'anting, and it was not 
thought necessary to subject them to that ceremony when 
one was obtained. Sacred use had given them all the 
sacredness that was deemed necessary. The site of the old 
church had been sold to the city, — New London had just 
attained the dignity of a city. At first an effort was made 
to secure protection for the remains of the dead that lay 
there, but they have ever since lain there unmarked and 
uncared for in one of the busiest haunts and thoroughfares 
of the city. It matters little to them, indeed. They sleep 
as soundly and will wake as quickly " at the last trumpet's 
sounding," as though they lay in some minster vault, or filled 
a narrow house on some breezy hillside. Yet it is unseemly, 
and the necessity for it cannot be but a subject of regret. 
The action of the parish on the subject v\'e give below : 

April 25, 1783. Voted, that the Church Wardens be a Committee to 
treat with the xvlayor and Aldermen of the city, relative to the sale or 
exchange of the ground, on which the Church stood ; under this restidc- 
tion, that the ground be not dug up on any pretence whatever, so as to 
disturb the ashes of the dead thereunder. 



68 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



But, at a meeting held the 6th of November, 1786, it 
was voted that "such part of the vote passed November 21, 
1785, restraining the Wardens to sell the lot on which the 
late church stood, with the condition that the ground shall 
not be broken up, be rescinded." So the city bought the 
land without the condition, probably from the conviction 
that compliance with it must become impracticable, and the 
ground became highway. Thus of these old sleepers it is 
true that their memorial has perished with them," and that 
" their remembrances are ashes, as well as their bodies bodies 
of dust." What the city paid for the vacated site nowhere 
appears. 

While the parish was passing through this what may not 
improperly be called the transition period of its being — ^its 
passage from the first church to the second, and from its 
colonial to its independent — from its royal to its republican 
state, two or three names have come prominently into view, 
that may fairly claim a passing notice. No one appears 
more prominent in its affairs at this time than John Deshon, 
who was for years its warden, and always active and influen- 
tial in its concerns. John Deshon was of Huguenot de- 
scent. Daniel Deshon came to this country when a boy, 
with Rene Grignon, soon after the revocation of the Edict 
of Nantes. He settled in New London, and married Ruth 
Christophers, of an ancient, widely-ramified, and respect- 
able family. John, his second son, was a sea-captain, and 
influential and distinguished as a citizen, an ardent Whig, 
and an active Churchman. The Rev. Dr. Deshon, of this 
diocese, and the late Rev. Dr. Brandegee, of Utica, were 
grandsons of one of his brothers. It is said that the name 
was originally written Des Champs, but always in our 
ancient records, and on the tombstone of the first ancestor, 
it is spelled as it is now. 

Roswell Saltonstall, also for many years a warden, was a 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



69 



descendant of Gurdon Saltonstall, some time the Congrega- 
tional minister, and afterward Governor of Connecticut. The 
first American ancestor of the family was Sir Richard Sal- 
tonstall, who was one of the company that came over with John 
Winthrop, — a company composed of the more moderate and 
tolerant class of Puritans, who had not so definitely and abso- 
lutely separated themselves from the Church of England. He 
was one of those who signed the parting address to the 
Church of England on leaving their native country. We 
may suppose that his descendants v/ere free, to a great 
extent, from the rancor that so generally characterized their 
party. Gurdon Saltonstall, we have seen, ^' courteously 
entreated " Keith and Talbot on their missionary tour, invit- 
ing them to preach for him, and expressed his good affection 
for the Church of England. Roswell Saltonstall married a 
daughter of Matthew Stewart, so prominent a Churchman 
in his day, and one of his daughters was the wife of the 
Rev. Charles Seabury, the Bishop's son, and his successor 
in the parish. . Quite a number of Governor Saltonstall's 
descendants are or have been ministers of the Church. 

Thomas Allen was another of the wardens of those days. 
He was a native of Boston, says Miss Caulkins, though old 
traditions say he was from the West Indies, and some, more 
particularly, from the Island of Antigua. He came to New 
London when quite young, and married Elizabeth, the 
daughter of Richard Christophers, and widow of John 
Shackmaple. He was a man of substance and extensive 
business, and, for a long time, a foremost man in the Epis- 
copal Church. His descendants have continued here, and 
the name is not yet extinct. His descendants have always 
been Churchmen. 

This second church is still standing, but so transformed 
as to bear little resemblance to the original edifice, and, 
indeed, to contain little of the old building but the frame 



70 



ST. y AMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



and part of the outside covering. That frame was of stout 
oak timber, and, in quality and quantity, such as to secure 
its long endurance. It was a respecta^ble structure, and not 
unchurchly, according to the ideas of the time. Its round- 
headed windows, which were then the distinctive mark of 
an Episcopal church, declared its character, and work on its 
cornices and mouldings gave evidence that beauty and 
ornament were not wholly disregarded in its erection. It 
was, at first, without a steeple ; the cupola that crowned its 
front was added subsequently. No doubt it was fair and 
comely in the eyes of those whose " desire to enter into the 
courts of the Lord " saw in it, at last, the completion of 
"hope deferred." But it is evident that our narrative is 
running far in advance of the course of events. More than 
two years before the completion and consecration of this 
church. Bishop Seabury had entered upon the charge of the 
parish, and taken^ possession of the parsonage-house, which 
continued to be his home till the day of his death. On his 
arrival from England, after his consecration, he came at 
once to New London, and became rector of St. James's. 
In coming to New London, he returned, not, indeed, to his 
birthplace, but to its vicinity, and to the haunts of his 
childhood, where his father had lived and ministered. No 
formal call to the rectorship is recorded in the parish book. 
Perhaps there was none ; but he entered without ceremony 
on this portion of his diocese as that in which he chose to 
dwell, and was content to add to the duties of the episco- 
pate the humble labors of a parochial pastorate. And the 
people welcomed him gladly, " esteeming him very highly in 
love for his work's sake," and glad and honored to have, as 
their more immediate pastor, one to whom they owed also 
the higher affection and respect due to him as their bishop. 
As the church was not, at this time, erected, the bishop held 
his services in the court-house, which then stood near the 



57: JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



71 



old meeting-house, at the southeast corner of the lot on 
which the Bulkeley School now stands. But he is said, I 
know mot on what authority, to have celebrated the Holy 
Communion every Sunday, after morning service, in the 
large parlor [of the parsonage where he lived. For this 
purpose, in 1786, he set forth a Communion Office for use in 
his diocese, more in accordance with his views of that 
sacred ordinance than that of the Church of England, and 
in fidelity to his engagement with the Episcopal Church of 
Scotland, from which he had received his consecration. 
Its title-page in full is : 

THE 

COMMUNION OFFICE, 

OR ORDER 

For the Administration 

OF THE 

;H O L Y EUCHARIST, 

OR 

g Supper of the Lord. 

WITH 

Private Devotions, 
Reccmmended to the Episcopal Congregations in Connecticut 
By the Right Reverend 

Bishop Seabury. 

New London. 
Printed by T. Green. MDCCLXXXVI. 

It was printed in a small pamphlet form for cheap and 
easy diffusion. How extensively it was adopted in the 
diocese is not known. It has become very scarce. When 
the present rector came into his charge at New London, he 
found half a dozen copies of it lying about in the pews of 
the church. These he gathered up and preserved. He 
has never seen any others. The service is substantially the 
Scotch service, agreeing with it mostly in the arrangements 



72 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



of the parts, and particularly in the prayer of consecration, 
which has passed into our own present Communion Service, 
with the alteration of some phrases thought by many to 
savor too strongly of prayers for the dead. I am not one of 
those who think the form of the English service essentially 
deficient, but I cannot but consider the fuller and more 
explicit language of the Scotch, and of our own, at once 
more impressive and more beautiful. In a folio English 
Prayer Book, which was used in the Church after the Revo- 
lution, is our present prayer for the civil authority, written 
out, I suppose, by the bishop's hand, and pasted over the 
prayer for the sovereign, after the Ten Com.mandments in 
the Ante-Communion, as though to be used as a substitute 
for it. Such, I infer, was his usage before the establishment 
of our Prayer Book. 

Of the eminent man of whom I have just spoken, it is 
not my intent to write an extended account. It seems 
needless. The main facts of his life and agency are suffici- 
ently well known. He, perhaps, as much as any one, some 
would say more, has left his impress on the service and 
offices of the American Church. His was the distinguished 
honor of bringing the episcopate into the New World, and 
planting on the shores of this western continent a genuine 
branch of that Apostolic tree, whose "leaves are for the 
healing of the nations," and whose spreading boughs have 
now stretched from sea to sea. He was, to a large extent, 
the conservative element in the Church in his day, useful to 
restrain the impetuosity of some, and stiffen the flexibility of 
others, and so keep the Church from drifting away from 
those ancient landmarks which the Fathers had wisely set. 
Yet, while he was a firm man, he was not an obstinate man. 
While he could frankly and earnestly adhere to his settled 
convictions, and hold unflinchingly to them in all matters of 
essential truth, he knew how to yield gracefully when his 



ST. yAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



73 



views were overborne, and not waste his time in whimpering 
over losses, and wound himself and the Church by ineffectual 
resistance or defiance. Such a man deserves respect from 
all, whether they sympathize with his opinions or dissent 
from them. Bishop White, than whom it would be difficult 
to find a man wider from him in constitution of mind and 
habits of thought, bears testimony of the most honorable 
sort to his worth when he says, in his ]\Iemoirs of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church : " " To this day there are 
recollected with satisfaction the hours which were spent 
with Bishop Seabury, on the important subjects which came 
before us ; and especially the Christian temper which he 
manifested all along." Yet this great and good man it has 
been the habit, in some quarters — alas that it should be in 
our own household of faith ! — to decry and ridicule, to make 
the butt of obloquy and detraction, to represent as a weak 
and vain man, vaporing with the conceit of his dignity, 
aping English state, strutting in the paraphernalia of office, 
holding, with a blind and unreasoning tenacity, to obsolete 
traditions, and imposing his own personal convictions on 
men with a narrow and bigoted imperiousness. It was the 
fortune of the writer to be born and grow up among his 
contemporaries, while his memory was yet fresh in many 
hearts. Xot one of these imputations was ever heard 
among those who knew him best. True, he sometimes 
wore a mitre, and wrote himself Samuel Connecticut ; but, 
in the latter particular, he did but conform to the ordinary 
usage, and the mitre he did not use at first, nor did he bring 
one with him when he came home, after his consecration ; 
but when he found many of the non-Episcopal ministers 
about him were disposed to adopt the title of bishop, in 
derision of his claims, he adopted a mitre as a badge of 
office which they would hardly be disposed to imitate. The 
mitre worn by the bishop is still preserved in the library of 
4 



74 



^•7: JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Trinity College, This mitre is a bifurcated cap of black 
satin, displaying on its front a metallic cross. 

He was at home among his parishioners and fellow- 
citizens, a ma.n of simple, quiet, unpretending ways, per- 
forming the humble duties of a parish minister with exem- 
plary assiduity and faithfulness, social and affable, sometimes 
witty and jocose, benevolent and charitable, always ready to 
use the medical skill which he had acquired in early life 
gratuitously for the benefit of the poor and needy, doing 
good with his narrow income to the utmost extent of his 
ability; so that when he died, he had " a tune of orphans' 
tears wept over him," — sweetest and most honorable re- 
quiem that can attend the bier of any man. Yet he pos- 
sessed a native dignity of appearance and manner that 
constrained universal respect, and repressed every attempt 
at undue or flippant familiarity. He was always the minis- 
ter of God, and, as a Congregational gentleman once said 
to me, every whit a bishop. An honest, brave, fearless, 
conscientious man was the first Bishop of Connecticut. It 
is sometimes alleged, evidently in the way of disparagement, 
and as though it were a slur on the genuineness of his com- 
mission, that his consecration came from the non-jurors. 
In any such sense as would reflect the slightest doubt on the 
legitimacy of his episcopal office, this is not true. His 
consecrators were not English, but Scotch non-jurors. The 
English non-jurors might be accounted schismatical on 
account of their setting up a rival hierarchy when dispos- 
sessed of their sees on the accession of William and Mary, 
but the Scotch non-jurors were simply the disestablished 
Church of Scotland, ejected on account of their romantic 
adhesion to the rejected Stuarts. Bishop Seabury was not 
in person very tall, but stout, robust, and massive. His 
presence and bearing inspired reverence, and his clear and 
sonorous voice added much to make him impressive and 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



75 



commanding. Such he was ; and I will only add that it is 
time pitiful detraction should come to an end, and all 
Churchmen should unite in that tribute to his memory 
which his character and services justly deserve. 

Bishop Seabury was born in North Groton, now Ledyard, 
the 30th of November, 1729, the son of Samuel Seabury, 
the first minister of New London, born while his father was 
officiating at North Groton as a Congregational licentiate. 
He passed the days of his youth in Nev/ London, where his 
father was ministering. At an early age he entered Yale 
College, and graduated with credit in 1748. He went to 
Scotland and studied medicine in the University of Edin- 
burg; whether with a view of devoting his life to the 
medical profession, or merely as an amateur, is not known. 
But it is known that, in his ministry, he made large use of 
his medical knowledge as a means of doing good. He soon 
at any rate, put aside medicine for the study of theology, 
and, after acquiring the requisite proficiency, was ordained 
deacon by Dr. John Thomas, Bishop of Lincoln, acting for 
the Bishop of London, December 21, 1753, and priest by 
Dr. Richard Osbaldeston, Bishop of Carlisle,^ acting for the 
same prelate, December 23, 1753; Dr. Thomas Sherlock, 
Bishop of London, being then disabled by infirmity, and 
near the close of life. On his return to America, he served 
several parishes in succession in New Jersey and New York, 
and settled finally in AVestchester, where he continued to 
officiate till the breaking out of the Revolution. His loy- 
alty, founded on the deepest convictions of duty, drove him 
from his parish ; and during the remainder of the war he 
resided in New York, serving as chaplain to the King's 
forces, and eking out his living by the practice of medicine. 
Soon after the establishment of independence, the clergy of 
Connecticut moved to obtain the episcopate, and made 
choice of Dr. Seabury for their bishop. To obtain conse- 



76 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



cration, he sailed for England in 1783. He had been hon- 
ored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the Univers- 
ity of Oxford, 1777. Political difficulties prevented his 
success in England ; the English bishops were unable to 
dispense with the oath of allegiance to the sovereign, vdiich 
their ordinal contained, and the British Parliament was 
backward to pass an enabling act, for fear of exciting the 
displeasure of the young republic, jealous of any encroach- 
ment on its newly-acquired nationality. Under these cir- 
cumstances. Dr. Seabury bethought himself of the Scotch 
bishops, identical in polity and authority with the English 
bishops, but disconnected with the State, in consequence of 
the disestablishment of their Church for its fidelity to the 
House of Stuart, and lying under the ban of political pro- 
scription. By them he was cordially welcomed, and by 
them, November 14, 1784, consecrated at Aberdeen, in 
Bishop Skinner's oratory, the consecrators being Robert 
Kilgour, Bishop of Aberdeen and Primus, Arthur Petrie, 
Bishop of Moray and Ross, and John Skinner, Coadjutor 
Bishop of Aberdeen. With these prelates, representatives 
of the Episcopal remainder in Scotland, he entered into a 
Concordat to maintain in America, as far as in him lay, the 
peculiarities of the Scottish Church, and, in particular, the 
prayer of consecration in the Communion Office. With his 
divine commission he returned to his country, and landed 
at Newport, June 20, 1785, preaching, on the following 
Sunday, the first sermon of a bishop in this country, in old 
Trinity Church, from Hebrews, xii. 1,2. He was soon estab- 
lished at New London as the rector of St. James's Church, 
which was then in process of erection, where he continued 
to dwell, in the faithful discharge of his duties as bishop 
and priest, till his very sudden death, February 25, 1796. 

In the formation of our institutions and the establish- 
ment of our Prayer Book, he acted a conspicuous and 



sr. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



77 



influential part. True to his engagement with the Scottish 
Church, he resisted the tendency to innovation that in many 
quarters displayed itself, and steadfastly exerted himself to 
procure the insertion of the consecration prayer in the 
Communion Office, and with success, most men will now 
admit conferring a decided benefit on the Church. He set 
his face firmly against what was termed the Proposed Book, 
and fought for the retention of the Catholic Creeds and the 
preservation of their integrity. For a few years, prejudice 
and misunderstanding, and diversity of views on some points 
of polity, kept him and his diocese separate from the body 
of the Church. But the difference was at last happily 
settled, and it was his honor to die the first bishop of the 
Episcopal Church in the United States of America. 

He married, early in life, Mary, the daughter of Edward 
Hicks, of New York, who died before his consecration. He 
did not marry again. His house in New London was 
under the charge of his daughter Maria. At last, after 
a tour of visiting in his parish, he remained to take tea 
at the house of ]\Ir. Roswell Saltonstall, a warden of the 
parish, whose daughter Ann had married his son Charles. 
When he had just risen from the tea-table, he fell with 
an attack of apoplexy, and soon expired. His funeral 
was attended without pomp, the only record of it in 
the register book of the parish being the simple words : 
"February 28, 1796. Buried, by the Rev. Mr. Tyler, of 
Norwich, Right Rev. Samuel Seabury, D.D., Bishop of 
Connecticut and Rhode Island." Soon after his entrance 
upon the discharge of his episcopal functions in Connec- 
ticut, the Churches in Rhode Island placed themselves 
under his jurisdiction, whence he derived the double desig- 
nation of Bishop of Connecticut and Rhode Island, which is 
often applied to him. He w^as buried in the public burying- 
ground in New London, and a table of gray marble placed 



78 



6*7: JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



over his grave, with the following inscription, written by the 
Rev. Dr. Bowden, of Columbia College, N. Y. : 

Here lieth the body of 

SAMUEL SEABURY, D.D., 

Bishop of Connecticut and Rhode Island, 
Who departed from this transitory scene, February 25, 1796, 
In the sixty-eighth year of his age. 
Ingenious without pride, learned without pedantry, 
Good without severity, he was duly qualified to discharge the duties 
of the Christian and the Bishop. 
In the pulpit, he enforced religion ; in his conduct, 
he exemplified it. 
The poor he assisted with his charity; the ignorant he 
blessed with his instruction. 
The friend of man, he ever desired their good; 
The enemy of vice, he ever opposed it. 
Christian ! dost thou aspire to happiness ? 
Seabury has shown the w^ay that leads to it. 

This table, since the removal of the Bishop's remains, 
has been placed within the enclosure on the north side of 
the present church. Within the church a tablet, in the 
form of an obelisk, stood originally at the left side of the 
pulpit, afterward directly over it, bearing the following 
inscription : 

SACRED 
May this marble long remain 
(The just tribute of affection) 
to the memoiy 
Of the truly venerable and beloved 
Pastor of this Church, 
The Right Reverend SAMUEL SEABURY, D.D., 
Bishop of Connecticut and Rhode Island, 
Who was translated from earth 
to heaven, 
February 25, 1796, 
In the sixty-eighth year of his age and twelfth of his consecration ; 
But still lives in the hearts of a grateful diocese. 



sr. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



79 



This tablet now stands in the basement chapel of the pres- 
ent church. The epitaph is not to be much admired, and 
one expression in it is justly open to criticism. When, in 
1849, the Bishop's remains were placed under the chancel 
of the church, then in process of erection, at the joint 
expense of the diocese and parish, a handsome monument 
of freestone, in- the form of an altar-tomb, underneath a 
canopy surmounted by a mitre, was placed over his final 
resting-place. On the slab above the tomb, this simple 
record was engraven : 

The Right Rev. Father in God, 
SAMUEL SEABURY, D.D., 
First Bishop of Connecticut, 
And of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States ; 
Consecrated at Aberdeen, Scotland, Nov. 14, 1784 ; 
Died Feb. 25, 1796; aged 67. 
The Diocese of Connecticut recorded here 
its grateful memory of his virtues and services, 
A.D. 1849. 

And, on a brass plate inserted in its upper surface, this 
inscription : 



A 




Sub pavimento altaris 
Ut in loco quietis ultimo usque ad magni diei judicium 
Exuviae mortales praesulis admodum reverendi nunc restant, 

SAMUELIS SEABURY, S.T.D. Oxon., 
Qui primus in rempublicam novi orbis Anglo Americanam 
successionem apostolicam, 
E. Scotia transtulit XVIII. Kal. Dec. A.D. CIDIDCCLXXXIV. 

Diocesis sua 

laborum et angustiarum tam chari capitis nunquam oblita 
in ecclesia nova S. Jacobi majoris Neo Londinensi olim sede sua 
hoc monumentum nunc demum longo post tempore honoris causa 
anno salut. nost. CI0I3CCCXLIX ponere curavit. 



8o 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



Of which the following is a translation : 

Under the pavement of the altar, as in the final place of rest until the 
judgment of the great day, now repose the mortal remains of the Right 
Rev. Prelate, Samuel Seabury, D.D., Oxon., who first brought from Scot- 
land, into the Anglo-American Republic of the New World the Apostolic 
succession, Nov. 27, 1784. His diocese, never forgetful of the labors and 
trials of so dear a person, in the new church of St. James the greater, of 
New London, foraierly his see, now at last, after so long a time, have 
taken care to place this monument to his honor, in the year of our salva- 
tion, 1849. 

The rectorship of the Bishop presents few incidents of 
special interest or importance. It flowed on with a quiet 
discharge of the ordinary duties of a parish priest, till it 
was abruptly terminated by his sudden death. Many came 
to him for Orders from various parts of the country ; some 
even from the remote south, there being, until the consecra- 
tion of Bishops White and Provost, no other bishop in the 
land; and, for this reason, admission to Deacon and Priests' 
Orders not unfrequently took place on two successive days. 
His son Charles, who had been admitted to Orders, chiefly 
passed his diaconate wuth his father at New London, until 
the Bishop's decease. The Rev. William Green, a son of 
Deacon Timothy Green, of New London, was ordained 
deacon by the Bishop, October 18, 1793, being the first 
New Londoner ever admitted to Holy Orders. His health 
was delicate, so that it is believed that he never assumed a 
pastoral charge ; but, being the teacher of a young ladies' 
school in New London, he also rendered the Bishop such 
assistance as he was able to aflbrd, and, being a man of 
peculiarly gentle and amiable character, was greatly beloved 
by his pupils, who long held him in affectionate remem- 
brance. 

The Bishop's income, from all sources, was but scanty. 
The parish paid his small salary ; and the diocese, at the 



57; JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



8i 



convention in 1788, feeling the necessity for such action, 
passed the following vote : 

That we grant, as a salaiy to the Right Reverend Doctor Samuel 
Seabury, our Diocesan Bishop, the sum of one halfpenny on the pound on 
the grand levy of the Episcopal Churches of the State of Connecticut, 
and that we agree to recommend to the several Churches which w^e repre- 
sent a confirmation of said vote, at their first society meeting, and that 
they continue said grant annually for two years, if said committee shall 
see fit. 

Samuel Nesbitt, Secretaiy. 

How much he received from this source is not known. 
He is also supposed to have received a small pension for 
his former services as an army chaplain. His means of 
living were small, but his benefactions were large in propor- 
tion to his means, for he was a large-hearted man. It shows 
the change in public opinion, that, at a meeting held May 
3, 1791, this resolution was passed : 

That the Wardens and Vestr}^ prefer a petition to the General Assem- 
bly, at their session in October next, in behalf of the Church, for a Lot- 
tery, to raise the sum of three hundred pounds, for the purpose of building 
a steeple, purchasing a bell, and paying arrears of debt due from the 
same. 

It is pretty evident that the Bishop was at least doubtful 
about the validity of lay baptism, for in the register is one 
entry, in which the person baptized is said, in a note, to 
have been previously sprinkled by a Congregational minis- 
ter ; and another, in which the recipient of baptism is said 
to have been sprinkled by a lay clerk in the West Indies. 

A cupola was added to the church in 1794, containing a 
belL This was a French bell, brought to New London 
from the West Indies, by Captain Hurlbut. It was small, 
but remarkably clear-toned and shrill, and its plaintive and 
wailing notes seemed peculiarly suited to a funeral knell. 

4* 



82 



ST, y AMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



Two months after the Bishop's death, his son Charles 
was chosen to succeed him in the rectorship by the follow- 
ing vote : 

March 28, 1796. Voted: That Mr. Charles Seabury be our minister 
for the following year. 

He accepted the invitation, and entered at once upon 
the charge of the parish, the duties of which he continued 
to discharge until May 26, 1814, when he resigned his 
charge, and removed to Setauket, L. I., where he continued 
to reside during the remainder of his life. He died at the 
advanced age of seventy-five, even more suddenly than his 
venerated father, December 29, 1844. His wife died at Se- 
taul^et, and he subsequently married the widow of the Rev. 
Henry Moscrop, who was the mother of Bishop B. T. Onder- 
donk's wife. He was the youngest child of Bishop Seabury, 
and was born at ^yestchester, N. Y., of which his father was 
then rector, May 29, 1770. The disadvantages under which 
young men were supposed to labor at Yale College on 
account of their religious opinions, deterred his father from 
seeking for him the educational privileges of his own Alma 
Mater. In consequence of this determination, he pursued 
a course of private study, first under the venerated Dr. 
Mansfield, of Derby, and subsequently with the Rev. Wm. 
Smith, D.D., of Narraganset. His theologicai studies he 
pursued under the immediate supervision of his father. He 
was ordained deacon at Middle town, June 5, 1793, and 
priest at New York, by Bishop Provoost, July 17, 1796. 
June 13, 1799, he married Ann, daughter of Roswell Salton- 
stall, of New London. The late Rev. Samuel Seabury, 
D.D., of New York, was his eldest son, and the Rev. Wm. 
J. Seabury, rector of the Church of the Annunciation, New 
York, is his grandson, being the fifth in order, in successive 
generations, who have exercised the ministerial office in the 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



83 



Episcopal Church. His ministry in St. James's Church 
presents few materials for our annals. Few events of im- 
portance occurred in his time. He was fully occupied with 
the quiet, patient, and diligent performance of the ordinary 
duties of a parish priest. His compensation was small, for 
the parish was poor, not having as yet recovered from the 
shock and loss of the Revolution. The prestige of his 
father's name acted rather to his disadvantage than other- 
wise. He was not eloquent, and possessed none of those 
arts which ordinarily attract and fascinate men. He was 
simply a sensible and faithful minister of the Word. The 
support which his father derived from the diocese, to some 
small extent, at least, and from his pension abroad, had 
ceased with his death. His salary from the parish, small in 
itself, and often irregularly and grudgingly paid, was quite 
insufficient for the needs of a growing family. His was the 
fate of too many of our clergy even now, whose life is but a 
trial of the varieties of starvation, and it is believed that 
his removal to Setauket brought with it little alleviation of 
his condition ; so that his whole life, that of a good, kind- 
hearted, sensible, and faithful man, was but a prolonged 
struggle with adversity, which, after being ^' maintained for 
more than half a century, with a zeal and ardor which 
trouble and privation could not abate, and age could 
scarcely dull," has ended at last, we doubt not, in a better 
and enduring substance. The picture here drawn is suffi- 
ciently dark and unhopeful, but I believe it is not untruth- 
ful. The barrenness and want of interest that prevailed, 
pertained not so much to the man as to the times. It was 
a transition period. The tone of feeling and course of 
action that had characterized the ante-revolutionary times, 
had much of it passed away, and the Church was but 
slowly learning to live under the new republic. The clergy 
of that time were few, and generally not very thoroughly 



84 JAMESES, NEW LONDON, 

educated. There were no means of theological education, 
and young men found few inducements to enter the minis- 
try of an impoverished and unpopular religious body. A 
reaction was at hand; but the motives and principles at 
work in it were not very pure and spiritual. Men, not only 
within the Church, but numbers outside of it, had grown 
restive under what was regarded as tyranny of the domi- 
nant form of religion. Many of these, without an intelli- 
gent knowledge of the Episcopal Church, or correct appre- 
ciation of her principles, were quite willing to throw in their 
lot with her, and sustain her to the accomplishment of their 
purposes ; hence, the Church was filling with numbers of 
what have been called political Churchmen, whose main 
interest in her lay in her adaptation to effect the civil and 
social changes at which they aimed. The full force of these 
influences had not yet been felt in New London ; but they 
were beginning tg operate, and a ministry that belonged to 
a by-gone day, in its tone and mode of procedure, could 
not meet its wants. New London had revived from the 
depression and torpor of the war, in a good degree. The 
trade of the West Indies had sprung up, and become profit- 
able. A great part of her business consisted in carrying 
horses to the West Indies in vessels, which were hence 
called " horse-jockeys." There was an increase of wealth, 
and the town grew in commercial importance. For many 
years the British Government regarded it a place of suffi- 
cient importance to keep a consul here. These things 
brought some people to the Church ; but those who were 
thus brought, were of the people that desired a ministry 
adapted to the new order of things. 

The war with Great Britain broke out in 1812. During 
a considerable part of the war, a squadron of Commodore 
Decatur lay up the river, blockaded by the fleet of Sir 
Thomas Hardy, lying off the harbor. 



ST. JAMES' 5, NEW L OND ON, 



85 



In 1812, the British ship "Macedonia" was captured, 
and her officers and men were brought prisoners into New 
London. The officers, free upon parole, lived on shore, 
and kept house by themselves. The commander was Capt. 
John Garden, — and it is somewhat of a curious coincidence 
that when the writer, a few years ago, was travelling abroad, 
he stumbled upon his grave in Ballycastle, a remote town of 
the north of Ireland, whose rector had married his daugh- 
ter. These national and foreign officers, being generally 
Churchmen, were attendants at St. James's Church, and 
served to enliven its appearance, if they added little to its 
strength. 

Such, so far as the writer can remember, was the posture 
of affairs when, in 18 14, the fourth rectorship ended. 
Meanwhile, the church had been somewhat improved in 
appearance. It had been provided with a cupola and bell. 
As long ago as 1792, it had been voted to apply to the Leg- 
islature, according to the common usage of the day, for a 
lottery to accomplish the object, but nothing seems to have 
come of it; and, two years after, a subscription was raised 
for the purpose. The cupola and bell were obtained, but 
when, and in just what manner, the records furnish no 
information. The bell, as has been heretofore stated, was 
brought from the West Indies, and had originally hung in 
some French church or convent. It was small, but its tone 
was sweet and musical. The cupola which contained it 
was bell-shaped. The centre of its roof tapered to a point, 
and was surmounted by a vane. It was open, and rested 
upon a row of slender pillars, the whole being enclosed by 
a balustrade. One strange entry of Mr. Seabury's ministry 
seems worthy of insertion : 

Jany. 5, 1800. Married Stephen Smith to Abigail Combs. N.B. — 
She was married in her shift, to have the benefit of the law in such case 
enacted.] 



86 



ST. JAMES' S, NE W L OND ON. 



The precise meaning of this remarkable entry the writer 
has not been able to ascertain. A similar extract from a.n 
English register he remembers to have once seen in ^' Notes 
and Queries," where it was preserved as a curiosity. 

The parish was now vacant ; but the people of St. 
James's saw that it was easier to make a vacancy than to 
fill one. Perhaps they were not perfectly united. Some 
were for what was called progress ; others were of the more 
conservative school. Ministers were few, and not all of 
them such as would be very much desired. The episco- 
pate was vacant. Bishop Seabury had been succeeded by 
Bishop Jarvis, who had also died, May 13, 1813. On the 
question of his successor, the diocese was much divided. 
There was no one of its presbyters sufficiently prominent to 
secure an unanimous vote, or even a decided majority. 
Once Dr. Croes, afterward Bishop of New Jersey, was 
chosen, but he , declined. So the matter lingered until 
the election of Bishop Brownell, in 18 19. In its destitu- 
tion, the diocese called in the service of Bishop Griswold, 
of the Eastern Diocese, and of Bishop Hobart, of New 
York; the latter of whom it invested with full episcopal 
supervision. •- . 

St. James's, New London, in its quest of a rector to suc- 
ceed Mr. Seabury, wrote Bishop Griswold, asking his coun- 
sel and assistance. I have before me an autograph letter 
of that venerated prelate, in which he gives his answer 
to that letter. It well represents, at once, the difficulty of 
the times. 

As it seems to be a matter determined upon that your Church m.ust be 
left vacant, it is pleasing, and manifests a laudable zeal and trust in God, 
that you are not discouraged, but are desirous and active, as soon as pos- 
sible, to supply your Church with a Clergyman possessed of talents, piety, 
and godly zeal. Your sentiments on this subject perfectly coincide with 
mine, and I am fully persuaded that such qualifications in a Christian 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



87 



minister as you mention, are those which alone will ordinarily be most 
useful or much blessed in any Parish. So far, only, as we preach the 
doctrines of Jesus Christ, and seek the glory of God, can we expect His 
spirit and blessing with us. But where you will find such a Clergyman as 
you enquire for, is a question more difficult to answer. . . , With regard 
to our Church at the present time, it may truly be said that the harvest is 
great and the laborers are few. Let us not fail to pray the Lord of the 
harvest that he will send us Pastors according to His own mind. That the 
loss of your worthy Pastor may speedily be thus supplied, is the devout 
prayer of 

Your sincere friend 

And humble servant, 

Alexander V. Oris wold. 

This application to Bishop Griswold seemed to have 
yielded no fruit. For some time the worship of the sanctu- 
ary was provided for by a lay reader. This duty was per- 
formed by Mr. Ezekiel Gilbert Gear, then a candidate for 
Holy Orders, and, as far as his memory will enable the 
writer to speak, not unacceptably. Mr. Gear was subse- 
quently in Orders, and served as a chaplain of the army 
stationed in some of our remote northwestern posts, and is 
well known as an active and efficient missionary, even to 
advanced age. For many years before his death, as by far 
the oldest clergyman in those regions, and an earnest and 
vigorous pioneer, and a co-worker of Cadle and Kemper, he 
was familiarly known as Father Gear. 

The choice of the parish at length fell upon the Rev. 
Solomon Blakslee, by a vote, March 27, 1815, who accepted 
their call, and became rector of St. James's, and, for the 
next three years, continued as its fifth rector. Mr. Blaks- 
lee was a native of North Haven, and had a brother 
Edward, who was also in Orders, but died while yet a 
young man. He graduated at Yale College in 1785, and, 
previous to his coming to New London, had ministered at 
East Haddam. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Sea- 



88 



ST, y AMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



bury, at Norwalk, June 3, 1789, and priest at Middletown^ 
January 5, 1793. He was a man of peculiarly cheerful^ 
genial, and social temperament, an agreeable companion 
and associate ; but was thought to be by many, perhaps not 
without reason, somewhat deficient in the gravity and seri- 
ousness which became his calling. Hence, not unnaturally, 
he was not likely to be altogether acceptable to the more 
staid, stately, and antique school of Churchmen, which was 
passing away or undergoing modifications, and was liable to 
be too much swayed by that incoming class spoken of above, 
which, in their new adhesion to the Church, were not in- 
fluenced by a deep conviction of her Divine claims, or their 
personal concern in the interests of spiritual religion. With 
the latter class he was a favorite. The coming of Mr. 
Blakslee awoke new life in the parish. The attendance 
increased ; the congregation grew. Nominal parishioners 
came to churchy who did not come before ; and faces not 
heretofore seen in Episcopal assemblies were noticeable in 
them. The salary was increased, and it seemed as if a new 
era of growth and prosperity had begun. But the stanch 
old Churchmen of former days did not quite like their new 
collaborators, and said, in their hearts, if not with their lips, 
" ]Vo?z tali atixilio nec defensorihcs istisJ" 

During the vacancy of the episcopate, after the death of 
Bishop Jarvis, the diocese put itself under the charge of 
Bishop Hobart, of New York, who had visited New Lon- 
don, August 22, 181 7, and administered the rite of Confir- 
mation to forty-nine persons. The largeness of the number 
may probably be accounted for by the fact that the rite had 
seldom, if ever, been administered since the death of Bishop 
Seabury; at least, it does not appear that Bishop Jarvis 
made more than one official visitation of the parish during 
his episcopate. There is no record of a Confirmation by him. 

Beyond the general statement already given of Mr. 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



89 



Blakslee's ministry, it seems unnecessary to speak. No 
events of importance occurred in it, and it was too short to 
produce any important effect on the condition of the parish. 
About the time of Mr. Blakslee's coming to New London, 
an effort was made to establish the bishop's fund on a firmer 
footing, and to collect the sums already subscribed for that 
purpose. The amount contributed here was $240. It 
seems to have been the amount apportioned to the parish. 
Two improvements in the church marked the period of Mr. 
Blakslee's ministry. In 1816, it was voted to lower the 
gallery, which was accordingly done. The pulpit had been 
previously lowered. Before this, it had been of that porten- 
tous height that was common with the pulpits of the day, 
which seemed to have been contrived to isolate the preacher 
as much as possible, and render the task of the hearer diffi- 
cult and uncomfortable. In 181 7, leave was given to 
certain persons who desired it, to place an organ in the 
gallery, which, accordingly, was done. The music, hitherto, 
had been simply vocal. The instrument then procured was 
of English manufacture, small, but of good quality and 
tone ; and it continued to answer the purposes of the con- 
gregation till the erection of the present church. It was 
the first organ introduced into public worship in the town, 
the Congregationalists not having yet overcome the aversion 
to the "kist o' whistles" which their ancestors brought 
from their mother country. 

The personal recollections of the writer, of St. James's 
as it then was, now begin to become distinct; and he 
may be indulged in a page or two of reminiscences as 
the church of his early days rises distinctly to his mind's 
eye. At the extreme end of the church then stood 
an octagonal pulpit, entered by a stair on the south side, 
and over it a sounding-board to match ; not, however, 
suspended by a rod, as was common, but fastened into the 



90 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



wall over the rear of the pulpit. On either side, the pulpit 
was enclosed by a rail that stretched across the front. Di- 
rectly in front of the pulpit was the reading-desk, and, 
before that, the holy table, which was of altar form. Some 
special pains had evidently been taken in its construction, 
for its front consisted of a single board of extraordinary 
width. This altar is still in existence, and is in use in the 
chapel of the Divinity School at Middletown. Within the 
rail there was also a small table, resting on four supports, 
which was said to have been used as a credence table in the 
days of Bishop Seabury ; but the writer can only remember 
it as it was occasionally drawn forward to the rail when 
baptism was administered, to hold a silver basin, which 
supplied the place of a font. It is thought that the ar- 
rangement which has been described can hardly have been 
the original construction ; but no evidence of a change can 
be found in record or tradition. On either side of the 
pulpit, stretched along the wall a row of square pews down 
to the front of the building, while the middle alley was 
furnished with slips, or long seats, according to the present 
fashion. The square pews were not furnished with a central 
table around which to kneel; but the worshippers who 
knelt at all, knelt upon the floor, their faces toward the seat. 
Many, however, contented themselves with sitting upright, 
and a few old men stood during the prayers, — a custom 
which they had acquired from their Puritan training. In 
the northeast corner of the church, just outside the pews, 
stood a small stove, of an obelisk form, in which wood was 
burned to mitigate the severity of a New England winter, — 
not very effectual for its purpose, but regarded by outsiders 
as a needless and profane indulgence, they themselves not 
having sunk to the low^ pitch of modern effeminacy. The 
vestry-room was at the lower end of the church, in the 
vestibule under the gallery stairs, so that the clergyman 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



91 



had to walk the whole length of the church in passing from 
it to the desk; but the custom then was for the clergyman 
to walk from his house to the church in his gown and bands, 
and the gown was universally worn. The surplice was worn 
over the gown, and the stole, looped to the back, was drawn 
out over the top of the surplice, and hung down before ; so 
that the minister, if he chose, might, at the end of prayers, 
without the trouble of going to the vestry-room, drop his 
surplice in the desk, and stand up in his gown and bands, 
prepared for the pulpit. According to the prevailing cus- 
tom, the officiating clergyman wore black silk gloves, the 
thumb and forefinger of the right hand of vdiich were split 
open, for the greater convenience of turning the leaves of 
his book. The Ante-Communion Service, according to the 
liberty given by the rubric, was, on most occasions, read 
from the desk. The people sat during the singing, and rose 
only at the " Gloria Patri," which was never omitted. There- 
was no instrumental music, nor any choir of singers. A.n 
old gentleman, with a red face and hooked nose, pitched 
the tunes, and every one who chose sung as he could. 
From one quarter came a shrill treble ; from another,. a harsh, 
tremulous bass ; from still another, the grating sound of one 
who, without musical ability, believing that singing w^as 
praying, deemed it his duty to add his contribution to the 
offering. There were sometimes among them good and 
sweet voices ; but they were of young and older persons, 
without training or concert. About this time, chanting 
began to be introduced, — a novelty and achievement, and as 
much an advance then as is now the most artistic music of 
our day. On the whole, there was not much melody to the 
ear ; but it is to be hoped that there was a good deal of sin- 
cere worship, much " making melody in the heart unto the 
Lord." Such was the St. James's and its worship of the 
early part of this century. 



92 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



The vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. 
Blakslee was short, and the brief interval was acceptably 
filled by the services of Mr. John Jacob Robertson acting 
as lay reader. Mr. Robertson was of New London stock. 
He was, after taking Orders, one of our first missionaries to 
Greece, and has novv' been for many years rector of the 
church at Fishkill, in the Diocese of New York. In the fall 
of 1818, the Rev. Bethel Judd came into the eastern part of 
the State as an agent of the Christian Knowledge Society, 
to visit the destitute parishes of the region. In the course 
of his tour, he came to New London to pass a Sunday. 
The result was that he received a call to the rectorship^ 
September 14, 1818, which he accepted, and continued in 
the charge until 1832, a period of fourteen years. Bethel 
Judd was born in Plymouth, Conn., and was baptized and 
reared in the Episcopal Church, and graduated at Yale 
College in 1797'. He was ordained deacon by Bishop 
Jarvis, at Cheshire, June 8, 1800, and priest, subsequently, 
in the Diocese of New York. He ministered successively 
in several parishes, and was, for some years, rector of St. 
Paul's, NorvN'alk. After this, he went to Fayetteville, N. 
and, while there, was active and influential in the organiza« 
tion of the diocese. On leaving New London, he became 
principal of the Cheshire Academy, and was then, for a 
short time, again rector of St. Paul's, Norwalk. He then 
removed to the State of New York, and, finally, closed his 
life with his son, Col. Judd, of the Army, at Wilmington, 
Del. His remains were brought to New London, and laid 
by the side of his vafe, who had died during his residence 
there. He received the degree of D.D. from Trinity Col- 
lege in 1 83 1, and was, for several years, a member of the 
standing committee of the diocese. Dr. Judd was a good 
man, and a sound and faithful preacher. He gloried in 
regarding himself as belonging to the evangelical school; 



sr. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



93 



but he was a strenuous asserter of the Divine right of Epis- 
copacy, and the other peculiar principles of the Church. 
He published a tract in reply to an attack upon the Church 
by a Congregational minister, under the title of " Presby- 
terian ordination doubtful." Mr. Judd's work was clear in 
its reasoning and courteous in its style, and the claims of 
the threefold ministry were modestly, but firmly, vindicated. 
At a later period, he published another vv'ork, under the 
title, ''Baptism not Regeneration;" but an intelligent 
reader will soon perceive that he battled against the name 
rather than the thing, and that little which he contended 
against would not be obviated by the declaration of the 
bishops in the late General Convention. Dr. Judd was a 
kind and attentive pastor, and was long remembered, by 
many of his parishioners, with respect and affection. But 
the smallness of his salary compelled him to resort to teach- 
ing as a means of support, and this, with the care of his 
family, so engrossed his time and attention, that he was 
never able to bestow upon the parish the amount of labor 
which its interests required. Hence, his rectorship can 
hardly be regarded as a period of growth; but the. Church 
held its own, and was quietly waiting for better times. His 
son, the Rev. William H. Judd, was ordained deacon by 
Bishop Brownell, in 1828^ a young man of most amiable 
character and promising ability. Soon after his ordination, 
he went to Alabama, and died at Tuscaloosa during the 
following year, thus suddenly cutting short the fond hopes 
of his father and of his many friends. Early in the minis- 
try of Dr. Judd, a Sunday-school was formed in the parish, 
which has been continued without intermission to the 
present time, and is believed to have been the source of 
much' good. Sunday-schools were, at that time, novelties 
and experiments, and regarded by many judicious Christians 
as of doubtful utility. Dr. Judd prepared a service for the 



94 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Sunday-school of a responsive character. This service, 
shghtly modified by the late Rev. J. M". Willey, was, years 
after, published by the Sunday-school Society of Xew York, 
and has continued to be used in New London until very 
recently. 

It is not necessary to enter into the details of Dr. Judd's 
ministry. Indeed, there is little to record but routine. 
There were no important events, no remarkable changes, 
during its continuance. 

August 13, 1820. }>Iichael Omensetter, a German pot- 
ter, an eccentric man, for many years a resident of Xew 
London, but never an attendant of St. James's Church, or 
connected with any religious organization, died, and, by his 
will, left one hundred dollars to paijit St. James's Church. 
Whether this Avas a simple freak, or involved a tacit satire 
of the neglect which had given occasion to it, is not known. 

Time flowed ^swiftly on, filled up with the ordinary course 
of parochial duties, discharged as well as they might be by a 
man in feeble health and advancing years, tried vrith severe 
family afflictions and burdened with the care of a school, but 
in whom all men recognized a courteous Christian gentle- 
man, and a true-hearted Christian minister. Having been 
chosen Principal of the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire, 
July II, 1832, he resigned the care of the parish, and went 
to assume the charge of that institution. One incident in 
the early part of Dr. Judd's rectorship — we have no means 
by vrhich to fix the date with precision — is worthy of preser- 
vation, as unique and peculiar in the history of St. James's. 
There was at the time, vre believe, but a single family of Roman 
Catholics in the town — that of Colonel AValbach, who was 
commandant at the fort — for many years. He had a pew at 
St. James's, and himself and family were regular attendants 
upon its services, joining in the worship of the Church with 
apparent interest and devotion. A priest of their own pro- 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



95 



fession came to visit them occasionally, and give them the 
rites of their Church. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Bos- 
ton at that time was Dr. Cheverus, a man whose amiable, 
pure, and benevolent character secured the respect of men of 
all creeds and conditions. On one occasion he came to New 
London to pass a Sunday with the family which has been 
mentioned. The rector took occasion to invite him to preach 
at St. James's in the afternoon. He accepted the invitation, 
and at the usual hour of service came to the church in the 
costume of his office, and after reading some English prayers 
from the desk, preached a sermon from the pulpit. A 
crowded congregation assembled to hear him ; for in those 
days a Romish bishop, in his attire of office, Avas a lion 
indeed. Fortunately, to secure us against any charge of 
tendency to popery, our Congregational neighbors invited 
him to preach for them also, at a later hour. It w^a,s a long 
summer day. A crowd assembled at the appointed hour. 
The bishop came again in his robes, and after offering an 
extempore prayer, delivered a sermon upon Martha and Mary 
from the pulpit of the Congregational Church. Without say- 
ing that the course of the rector w^as warrantable or judicious, 
it must be manifest to all that the state of feeling in the 
Church of Rome, and toward it, was very different from that 
which now prevails. Such a thing could not now be. 
Ultramontanism had not then so nearly obliterated the 
Catholic element in that communion, and turned it into an 
engine of temporal power and spiritual despotism. Dr. 
Cheverus went back to France, and was subsequently, we 
believe. Archbishop of Bordeaux. 

The parish remained without a supply a very short time. 
The Rev. Isaac W. Hallam, then a deacon from Alexandria 
Seminary, being at home with his friends at Stonington, was 
invited to officiate at St. James's, and was soon after called 
to take charge of it. His ministry^^here was short, lasting 



96 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



but a year and a half. The Rev. Isaac W. Hallam was a 
native of Stonington. He graduated at Trmity College in 
1830. He pursued his theological studies at the Episcopal 
Seminary at Alexandria, where it is supposed he also 
received Deacon's Orders. He was ordained priest while in 
charge of St. James's Church, by Bishop Brownell, Decem- 
ber 18, 1833. Preferring another, and, to a young man, a 
more inviting field of labor, he tendered his resignation, June 
16, 1834, and soon after removed to Chicago, then just ris- 
ing into notice. He was the first minister of the Church in 
that city, and the founder of St. James's Parish, to which he 
gave that name in compliment to the parish he had left. 
After a time he returned East, and ministered some years in 
the Diocese of New Jersey. He is now a presbyter of Con- 
necticut. Of his short ministry in New London there seems 
nothing to narrate. Nothing of moment happened while he 
was here. He ,was not here sufficiently long to impress him- 
self strongly upon the parish, but there are those who have 
always remembered him with affectionate respect. 

Mr. Hallam having resigned and gone away, the parish 
was again vacant. In the autumn following, the present 
incumbent came to New London on a visit, and this resulted 
in his receiving a call to the rectorship, which, with much 
reluctance and many misgivings, he accepted ; more, how- 
ever, as he frankly avowed, on personal grounds than from 
any conviction of the wisdom of the choice for himself or for 
the parish. He little thought that he was entering upon his 
life work, and beginning a ministry more protracted than that 
of any of his predecessors; but so it has been ordered, and 
doubtless it is v/ell. 

We would pass over this period lightly ; but as it covers 
more than a quarter of the whole existence of the Church, 
and contains within it many events of the deepest interest 
and importance to its welfare, it cannot be suffered to pass 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



97 



in entire silence. He entered upon his duties here, January 
I, 1835, peculiarly awkward and trying situation of a 

young man in his native place, to minister to many, to 
whom, from early childhood, he had been wont to look up 
with respect. He found the parish in by no means a pros- 
perous condition. 

During the latter years of Dr. Judd's rectorship, it had 
languished for causes which have been stated, and the min- 
istry of his immediate predecessor was too short to effect 
much improvement. He has not much to say of himself, 
but that he entered upon his duties with a resolute and will- 
ing mind, and his efforts proved not altogether vain. The 
congregation adjusted itself to its new relation with a facil- 
ity and indulgence that could not have been anticipated, and 
from them soon came forth some who proved efficient fellow- 
helpers of the truth. Before the year had ended, the want 
of better accommodation for the Sunday-school, as well as 
for holding occasional services, began to be felt, and the pro- 
ject was started of erecting a building for the purpose. This 
plan was soon after abandoned, and instead of it, it was 
determined. May 18, 1835, to enlarge the church, and to 
provide a room for the contemplated purposes in the front 
part of the church il;self, as well as a vestry-room in the rear 
of the pulpit. This plan was carried into effect, and was 
temporarily useful till better things came in its stead. 
Neither pastor nor people knew much of Church architecture, 
and, indeed, in that day the interest on the subject which 
now prevails in the Church had not arisen. The building 
was put into the hands of a New England carpenter, who had 
no higher conceptions of a church than those which gen- 
erally prevailed in the Christian bodies of the country. In 
his hands it underwent as complete a transformation as can 
well be conceived. Not a vestige of aught that was Churchly 
in the edifice was left, — indeed, little of it remained but the 
S 



98 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Stanch old oaken frame, and a part of the outside covering. 
Its appearance within and without seemed to be a sort of 
" prophecy going before " of the fate to which it was 
destined ; yet, in its new guise, it answered a useful pur- 
pose. It was a place to grow in, and in it men were edu- 
cated to those higher ideas of a house of God which finally 
took shape in their present noble sanctuary. 

While these extensive alterations in the building were 
being effected, the use of their church was courteously ten- 
dered by the Second Congregational Society, and the services 
of the Church continued to be held there till the work vras 
completed, — a kindly reciprocation of a like favor con- 
ferred on our part upon them in 1780, during the revolu- 
tionary war. A similar courtesy was extended from the 
First Congregational Society in the use of their conference 
house, and of the church itself for a Christmas service at the 
time when the c^hurch was being enlarged in 1836, which are 
both gratefully acknowledged. The follov\-ing year, soon 
after the congregation was reestablished in its own place of 
worship, the parish was much gratified by a generous gift of a 
handsome set of communion vessels of silver, from the Hon. 
Thomas L. AVinthrop, of Boston, late Lieutenant-Governor 
of Massachusetts, as a token of kindly interest in his native 
parish and the home of his forefathers, the descendants of 
the first founder, who were never more than semi-Puritans, 
and for several generations had been faithful adherents of 
the Church. This communion service is still in use, and 
will, it is hoped, continue to be used through successive gen- 
erations. To this gift of I\Ir. Winthrop was added that of a 
christening basin by his sister, ]\Irs. ]\Iary Parkin. 

In the renovation of the old church, the bell was sold, 
and a larger substituted in its place. It was purchased by 
a congregation in the adjoining town of Waterford, and 
still serves the purpose of calling the Jordan Baptist Society 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



99 



to its worship. In 1841, it was discovered that, through in- 
advertence, the provisions of the law in regard to ecclesias- 
tical societies had been so long disregarded, that the number 
of persons legally members of the society was much reduced, 
and that the parish itself, as to its legal existence, was verg- 
ing on extinction ; while, at the same time, the actual con- 
gregation was growing by continual accessions. To obviate 
the difficulty, the parish was reorganized according to the 
provisions of the law, and has since continued its legal 
being by a careful observance of the statutory directions of 
the State. 

For several years after this date, the- parish furnished 
little material to add to our history. It was a period of 
quiet and peaceful growth. The parish was at unity with 
itself. New men — men of energy and of good sense — arose 
to take part in its affairs. Additions were frequently made 
to it of those who, if they were not influenced by any deep 
conviction of its Divine claims, were drawn by a perception 
of the practical advantages of the Episcopal system, and a 
discovery of the fitness and beauty of its forms. The par- 
ish was becoming strong, more conscious of its own strength, 
and more generally estimated as a power in society. 

March 4, 1842. Died, Ichabod Pease, aged eighty-six; 
a man of color — in many respects, a remarkable man — 
whose modest worth, quiet dignity, and consistent goodness, 
secured for him the unfeigned respect of all men, of what- 
ever complexion or form of faith. Though a slave in early 
life, and never minding high things, he was, in the true 
sense, a Christian gentleman. At his death, the most 
eminent citizens sought the privilege of acting as bearers at 
his funeral. He was carried to the church, and the rector 
preached from the text, ^' The righteous is more excellent 
than his neighbor " (Prov. xii. 16). The sermon was 
printed, and his good example has been long remembered. 



lOO 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



In the autumn of 1846, New London was startled by a 
terrible occurrence in its neighborhood, which filled the 
community with consternation and sorrow. The steamer 
"Atlantic," on the evening of November 26th, the day pre- 
ceding Thanksgiving, just starting on her way to New 
York, was overtaken by a violent storm, and driven upon 
the west end of Fisher's Island, where she stranded and 
went to pieces. Many lives were lost. Seven persons, five 
of whom were members of an English family, one a surgeon 
of the navy, one a lieutenant in the army, were brought to 
New London, and buried with the services of the Church. 

In this same year, the personal considerations which had 
chiefly induced the rector to accept the situation, ceased to 
operate ; and it became a grave and perplexing question 
with him w^hether he should adhere to his original purpose 
of resigning on the ceasing of those considerations, or lay it 
aside. The general principles which had influenced his 
judgment remained unaltered, but the circumstances had 
greatly changed. The period had far exceeded his expecta- 
tions, — the awkwardness of his beginning had passed away. 
New ties had been formed, and had had time to become 
strong. The people, so far as he knew, were content, and 
he had reason to think that he had been useful. To break 
the bond that united him to the parish, under such circum- 
stances, was difficult, and might be regarded by many as 
capricious and unreasonable. Still, he longed to be gone. 
He was a prophet in his own country, and he could not get 
rid of the impression that his situation was one of disad- 
vantage, and that he might be more and do more somewhere 
else. On the whole, he determined to bring the question to 
a practical test, which, he believed, would set him free ; but 
it did not. The old church, since its transformation, had 
filled up. There was no room for more growth. There 
was a decided tendency to an increase of numbers, both by 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



lOI 



the growth of the population and of the popularity of the 
parish. The time had come when, in the judgment of the 
rector, the parish needed a larger and better church. He 
had communicated his feelings on the subject of remaining 
to the leading members of the parish, who decidedly dis- 
sented from his views, and urged his continuance. He 
then suggested the erection of a new church, as, in his 
view, necessary to the permanent prosperity of the parish, 
which he should receive as an indication of feeling on their 
part, and a guide to action on his own. The proposal was 
received wuth a degree of favor that altogether surprised 
him. A few gentlemen held an informal meeting to consult 
upon the subject. As a result, it appeared that a sufficient 
amount could be obtained to warrant further action. Sep- 
tember 7, 1846, a parish meeting was held, and the following 
resolutions were passed, viz. : 

Whereas, the interests of this parish require a more extensive accom- 
modation for a Church than is offered by the present building and location, 
therefore, 

Resclved : that this Parish will build a New Church. 

Resolved : that a Committee of five persons be appointed to carry into 
effect the object of this meeting, and that said Committee be fully em- 
powered to select and purchase a lot for said building ; take a deed of the 
same in the name of said Parish; determine upon the size, plan, and con- 
struction of said church, and bind the Parish in relation thereto for the 
payment of the same, and to do any act which this Parish may legally do 
in relation thereunto, as effectually and legally as if done by a Parish 
meeting. 

Under this resolution, the rector and Mr. Chas. A. 
Lewis were appointed a sub-committee, to make requisite 
inquiries, and obtain the information which should furnish 
the ground for subsequent action. The sub-committee, in 
fulfilment of the duty assigned them, visited a considerable 
number of churches, and made inquiries in various quarters ; 



I02 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



and, as the result of their mission, recommended the erec- 
tion of a stone church, capable of accommodating at least 
five hundred people, and the employment of Richard Up- 
john, Esq., as architect. Mr. Upjohn had come to this 
country a few years before, and had already made himself a 
name in the erection of the Church of the Ascension and 
Trinity Church, New York, and Christ Church, Brooklyn. 

His influence had awakened new interest in the style 
and character of churches, and he may be not inaptly 
called the father of church architecture in the United 
States. A subscription paper was now circulated, and the 
amount of about ^20,000 obtained, which was then regarded 
as a very liberal sum, and amply sufficient to accomplish 
the contemplated design. Mr. Upjohn was directed to pre- 
pare a design, and, accordingly, furnished a plan of a simple 
early English church, not ornate, but graceful and pleasing. 
A lot for the purpose was purchased of Wm. W. Billings, him- 
self a liberal contributor to the good work, at the corner of 
Huntington and Federal streets. From the position of the 
lot, and a desire to conform to the ancient custom of placing 
the chancel at the eastern end, the principal entrance was to 
be on Huntington street ; but, for ornamental effect, as well as 
for convenience, it was thought desirable to have an entrance 
also on the north side, from Federal street ; hence, the cruci- 
form shape was adopted. There was to be a spire of stone 
on the northwest corner, one hundred and sixty feet in 
height. All things seemed now to be in readiness for the 
commencement of the work, when it was suggested that, by 
widening the church slightly, room would be obtained for a 
passage, on either side of the church, by the wall, which 
would render the division of the space more commodious 
and convenient. At the same time, a desire for a somewhat 
more ornate style was expressed by some. The plans were, 
accordingly, returned to Mr. Upjohn, and altered by him in 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



103 



the particulars suggested. The new plan was finally adopted 
and carried into effect. The architect confidently expressed 
the opinion that the edifice would be completed for a sum 
not exceeding ^25,000; but it was found that no builder 
would contract to build it for that sum. Mr. Upjohn at 
last obtained a builder from abroad, who contracted to do 
the work for ^27,000. The material to be employed was a 
red freestone, from New Jersey, which has proved a very 
durable and satisfactory material. These preliminaries 
being arranged, the corne-rstone of the edifice was laid, 
November 3, 1847, by the Right Rev. Dr. Henshaw, Bishop 
of Rhode Island, acting in behalf of Bishop Brownell, who 
was prevented from being present by his age and infirmity. 
The day was remarkably fine and propitious, and so un- 
commonly warm as to be almost sultry and uncomfortable. 
We cannot do better, perhaps, than copy the minute made 
at the time in the parish register : 

At three o'cl'k, p.m., he [Bp. Henshaw] laid the corner-stone of a 
new Parish Church on the corner of Huntington and Federal streets, at 
the northwest corner of the chancel, at its junction with the north tran- 
sept, inside the base course and above the Chapel. There was enclosed 
in it a leaden box, containing the following deposit : A Bible, a Prayer 
Book, the Journal of the last convention of Connecticut, Bp. Brownell's 
charge in 1843, ^ sermon of the Rector's, containing a historical sketch 
of the Parish, the Calendar, a Church paper printed in Hartford, for Oct. 
30, a copy of the Advocate and Democrat, weekly papers, the Moj^ning 
Star, a tri-weekly, and the Morning News, a daily paper, all published in 
New London ; a Church Almanac for 1847, a map of the city, according 
to the survey of 1846, and a specimen of American coin for the present 
ytdir. '^ Laus Deo. 

The work now seemed to be going on prosperously, and 
a speedy and successful, terminationrwas foretold. In the 
minds of some, however, and 'among them the rector, there 
were misgivings, arising from doubts whether an edifice of 



I04 



ST, JAMES'S, XEW LONDON, 



such a character could possibly be completed by the funds 
provided; and these vaticinations ere long met with a ful- 
filment. The contractor announced that the money pro- 
vided by the parish was entirely consumed, and, as he was 
himself destitute of means to fulfil his contract, asked to be 
relieved from it. The parish, seeing no hope of relief, com- 
plied vv'ith his request; and so the work was brought to a 
stand. The walls were at about half their height, and the 
building, in this deplorable and apparentlv ci-ririted con- 
dition, stood still for months, affording an ' ^ 'uu::}" f:r 
such as had ''evil will at Zion," to say. " lu.cic! there I 
So would we have it. These men began to build, but they 
were not able to finish." Yet it ought in justice to be said 
that the prevailing feeling was one of sympathy, rather than 
of exultation. The pause, however, soon brought the convic- 
tion that no interposition of Providence was to be expected, 
without an endeavor to extricate ourselves, and that Her- 
cules would not come to our relief till we put our shoulder 
to the wheel. A new subscription was set on foot, and 
resulted in a contribution that abundantly evinced the 
liberality and earnestness of the people. The work was 
now resumed, and went steadily forv\-ard to its completion. 

The remains of Bishop Seabury, at the time of his 
death, were deposited in the public burying-ground. It 
seemed a proper thing, especially as he had been rector of 
the parish as well as bishop of the diocese, that they should 
now be transferred to the church, and a suitable monument 
to his memory be placed o^'er them. The idea found favor, 
both in the parish and in the diocese at large. The Con- 
vention of the Diocese, held June S, 1S47, passed the follow- 
ing vote : '' That a Committee of three be appointed to col- 
lect, through private donations, a sum sufficient for the 
erection of a monument, of suitable stability and beauty, to 
the memory of the first Bishop of this Diocese, to be placed^ 



ST. JAMES'S, NE W L OND ON, 105 

with the consent of the Vestry, within the walls of the new 
Church of his former Parish, St. James's, New London." 

The Rev. Wm. F. Morgan, the Rev. Wni. Jarvis, and 
Richard Adams, Esq., were appointed as this committee. 
The following persons — the Rev. Dr. Jarvis, the Rev. Dr. 
Hallam, the Rev. A. C. Coxe, the Rev. Dr. Burgess, and the 
Rev. Dr. ]Mead — were appointed a committee to carry the 
design into effect. The parish, on its part, though heavily 
taxed for the erection of the church, met the call hand- 
somely and liberally. The work of preparing a design of 
the monument, and attending to its execution, was entrusted 
to Mr. Upjohn. In the summer of 1849, the church was so 
far advanced as to be ready to receive the monument, Avhich 
was to be built into the eastern wall of the chancel, and, on 
the twelfth day of September, the ceremony of removing 
the bishop's remains, and placing them in their final resting- 
place, was performed with appropriate solemnities. The 
minute made at the time in the register book of the parish 
is here subjoined : 

The remains of Bp. Seabuiy were removed from the Second Buiying 
ground, and deposited beneath the chancel of the new Church, in a grave 
lined with brick and covered with flagging stones, dn-ectly under the 
monument in the Church, and before the north window on the east side 
of the Chapel, below the floor. His bones were found perfect, but no 
part of the coffin, except a portion of the lid, surrounded by brass nails in 
the form of a heart, containing within it, in brass nails also, these letters 
and figures : 

S. S. 
^. 67. 
1796. 

The remains were placed in a new coffin, which v.'as borne from the. 
ground to the Church, on a bier covered with a pall, by the Rev. Messrs. 
J. Williams, D.D., A. C. Coxe, T. H. Vail, H. F. Roberts, T. C. Pitkin, 
J. M. Willey, C. E. Bennett, and E. O. Elagg. The Rector, attended by 
the Rev. Dr. Jarvis, met the remains at the Church. The Rector read the 



io6 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON, 



first t^Yo sentences of the Burial service, and Dr. Jarvis the anthem, the 
persons present responding. The Rector read, for the lesson, Wisdom, 
5tli chap, to the lytli verse. Dr. Janas pronounced the sentence, 
" Blessed are the dead," &c., and the Rector read the last prayer but one 
in the Burial service, the Prayer for all persons in the " Visitation of the 
sick," the Collect for "All Saints," the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostolic 
Benediction. The coffin was then lowered into the grave, after which the 
psalm, ^^Deus Exurgat^' and the Nicene Creed were repeated, led by 
the Rector, and Dr. Jarvis said the closing Benediction. The place of 
deposit was a brick gi-ave underneath the floor, covered by heavy flagstones 
carefully mortared together. There may they rest, in the language of Dr. 
Ja.rvis' epitaph in the chancel, Ut in loco quietis ulti7?io usque ad magni 
diei judicium, ' ' 

In the fall of 1849, the treasury was again found to be 
empty. The avails of the second contribution ^Yere con- 
sumed, and the church, in some important particulars, was 
yet unfinished, and the steeple not even begun The ques- 
tion now was whether the steeple should be built, or left 
until a future time. A general feeling of exhaustion pro- 
duced an inclination in very many to adopt the former 
course ; but the rector, and others -who sympathized with 
his views, recommended the latter, and this plan finally 
prevailed. A third subscription was commenced ; and, 
although it seemed like attempting to extract moisture out 
of a sponge that had been squeezed until it was dry, yet, to 
the surprise of all, it proved successful. A sufficient sum 
was obtained to warrant going on with the work. The 
matter now proceeded without interruption. The pro- 
tracted struggle of three years was crowned with complete 
success, and at last they "brought forth the headstone 
thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." The 
fear, misgivings, and despondency of the long interval of 
waiting and striving was swallowed up in the happiness of 
consummation. A bell, of the weight of 3,300 lbs., was 
procured, and suspended in the steeple. The amounts of 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



the three subscriptions, respectively, were as follows : The 
first, |2i,349; the second, $5,800; and the third, $8,203; 
making, in all, a sum total of $35,352, an amount which, 
considering the size and ability of the parish, was highly 
creditable to its zeal and liberality, and which, in view of 
the altered standard of values, is nearly, if not quite, equal 
to double that amount at the present day. The basement 
was left unfinished, and a debt of about $7,000 remained 
behind. All now was ready for the consecration of the 
church, and it was arranged that the Annual Convention of 
the Diocese should be held at New London, and that the 
ceremony of consecration should take place in connection 
with its opening services. The occasion was one, indeed, of 
much interest, not only for the parish, but to the diocese at 
large ; for New London was the cradle of its episcopacy, 
and, underneath the new building, lay the remains of its 
first bishop. His monument had been provided by contri- 
butions from various parts of the diocese under the author- 
ity of the Convention, and the church itself, for beauty and 
correctness of architecture, was in advance of almost any 
other in Connecticut ; and, indeed, after the lapse of more 
than twenty years, it has not lost much of its distinction. 
The consecration took place on St. Barnabas' Day, June 
II, 1850. We insert the instrument of donation given by 
the parish, and Bishop Brownell's letter of consecration. 

To the Right Rev. Tho^ Church Brownell, D.D., Bishop of Connecticut. 

Rev. Father in God : 

Whereas, the parishioners of St. James's Church, in the City of New 
London, have taken in hand to erect in said City an edifice to take the 
place of their former Church, now, by reason of age and the growth of the 
• congregation, insufficient for their wants ; and whereas, by the favor of 
Almighty God, this their pious undertaking, is now brought to a happy 
completion ; now, therefore, we, the Rector, Church Wardens, and Ves- 
trymen of said Parish, respectfully request you to take said edifice under 



io8 



ST, JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



your canonical charge and oversight, and this day set it apart in solemn 
manner for the holy purposes had in view in its erection. And we, the 
said Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen, do hereby devote said 
edifice to the service of Almighty God, in conformity to the Doctrine^ 
Discipline, and Worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America : .and for ourselves and our successors in office,, 
do promise and engage to sacredly guard it, when so consecrated and set 
apart, from all profanation by unhallowed, worldly, and common uses^ 
and keep it holy to the honor of God, for reading and preaching His 
Holy W^ord, for offering to Him the sacrifice of Prayer and Praise, for 
celebrating His Holy Sacraments, and for the performance of all other 
sacred rites and offices of His Church. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, in the City of 
New London, this nth day of June, in the year of Our Lord One 
Thousand Eight hundred and Fifty. 

Rob. a. Hallam, Rector. 



Jonathan Stow, | 
Francis Allyn, j 

Wm W. Billings, 
John Brandegee, 
Joseph C. Sistare, 
Archibald Mercer, 
George R. Lewis, 
Stanley G. Trott, 
James Morgan, 
Enoch V. Stoddard, 
John P. C. Mather, 



Wardens, 



Vestry 7nen, 



Whereas, sundry good people of the Parish of St. James's Church, 
New London, have erected a building for the public worship of God 
according to the ritual and offices of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and 
have requested that the same may be consecrated agreeably to the usages 
of said Church, 

Now, therefore, be it known that T, Thomas Church Brownell, by 
Divine permission Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut, did, this day, 
duly consecrate the said building by the name of St. James's Church ; and, 
separating it henceforth from all unhallowed, worldly, and common uses, 
the same did dedicate to the service of Almighty God; for reading His 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



109 



Holy Word ; for celebrating His Holy Sacraments ; for offering to His 
glorious Majesty the sacrifices of Prayer and Thanksgiving; for blessing 
His people in His name, and for the performance of all other holy offices 
according to the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and for the sole use of 
a congregation in communion with said Church, and in union with the 
Diocese of Connecticut. 

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my 
Episcopal Seal, at New London, this Eleventh Day of June, in the year 
of Our Lord, One Thousand Eight hundred and Fifty, and in the Thirty- 
first year of my Consecration. 

[l. s.] Thomas Church Brownell. 

A great concourse assembled on the occasion, the Con- 
vention of the Diocese being present, and many people not 
belonging to the congregation, from the city and surrounding 
town. The service was imposing and impressive, though 
without other adjuncts than those appointed by the Church. 
A long procession of surpliced clergy, led by the aged 
bishop, and headed by two grand old men, Drs. Burhans 
and Crosw^ell, as they moved up the centre of the church, 
and took their seats in the ample chancel, which afforded 
room for all, was a solemn and beautiful sight.' It was, 
indeed, a memorable occasion, and one never to be forgot- 
ten by those w^ho participated in it. This minute was made 
at the time in the register of the parish : 

June II. Feast of St. Barnabas. 

The new Parish Church was consecrated by the Bishop of the Diocese ; 
the Convention of the Diocese assembled in it. Tvlorning Prayer was 
read by the Rev. Thomas W. Coit, D.D., and the lessons by the Rev. 
Gurdon S. Coit, brothers, natives of New London ; the request to Conse- 
crate by the Rector; the sentence of Consecration by the Rev. Wm 
Cooper Mead, D.D. ; the Litany, by the Rev. Harry Croswell, D.D. ; the 
Communion Service by the Bishop and the Rector, assisted by the Rev. 
Dr. Croswell, Rev. Frederick J. Goodwin, and Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe. 
Rev. John Williams, D.D., preached the sermon, from ist Tim. 3: 9. 



I lO 



ST. JAMES'S, A^EW LONDON. 



The clergy assembled in the crypt of the Church, habited, for the most 
part, in surplices, and passed in procession around the north side of the 
Church to the west door, where they were received by the Wardens and 
Vestrymen, and a written request to consecrate the Church was presented 
by Jonathan Starr, Esq., Senior Warden; thence, up the centre of the 
Church to the chancel, where seats sufficient for them all were provided. 
They numbered seventy-eight. Not unto us, O Lord I not unto us, but 
unto Thy name give glory for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake.'' 

The original building committee consisted of 



In the course of the work, Mr. Lewis resigned, and his 
place was supplied by the appointment of ^lr. Francis 
Allyn. At this time in the process, and when the vrant of 
means was pressing, the old church was sold for the small 
sum of $3,500, and henceforward the congregation, till the 
church was completed, was indebted to the kindness of 
Christian neighbors for a place of worship, the services 
being held in the Second Congregational Church. 

Of those who were specially active and useful in carry- 
ing this great work onward toward completion, I would 
fain say a few words, but I refrain from speaking. Of the 
living, delicacy forbids us to speak ; and even of the dead 
^ve cannot speak without being in danger of making what 
might seem, to some, invidious distinctions. A single name 
we will mention, — Francis Allyn, a man of excellent taste 
and judgment, feeling a deep interest in the undertaking, 
and having abundant leisure for the purpose, superintended 
the work with the minutest and most careful vigilance and 
toil ; and to him, more than to any one else, the church owes 
the excellence of its Vv^orkmanship and the perfectness of its 
execution. 



The Rev. R. A. Hallam 
C. A. Lewis, 



\\m. W. Billings, 
E. V. Stoddard, 



F. W. Holt. 



ST, y AMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Ill 



We are quite sure none will dissent from this praise. 

The church being now completed and occupied, it was 
suggested that the institution of the rector, who had never 
been formally recognized in his office by that ceremony, 
might be a not inappropriate celebration of the consumma- 
tion of the important work. He not unwillingly assented 
to the proposal ; for though, to some, it might seem, after 
the long period of fifteen years, an empty and unmeaning 
performance, it was by no means such to the incumbent ; 
for these fifteen years had been to him only a period of 
waiting and experiment, during which he had never felt 
himself permanently established. He had at last made up 
his mind to stay in his place, unless removed from it by 
some of those mutations to which human affairs are always 
liable, and he thought it well that this determination should 
be sealed by such a public rite as an institution. To the 
request of the vestry, the bishop readily assented, and came 
himself and acted as the institutor. The ceremony accord- 
ingly took place, August i, 1850. An extract from the reg- 
ister is subjoined : 

The Bishop instituted the Rev. Robert A. Hallam into the Rectorship 
of the Parish. Morning Prayer was read by the Rev. William S. Child, 
of R. L, and Rev. Prof. Jackson, of Trinity College. The Rev. Dr. Coit, 
of Trinity College, preached from Ezek. vii. 20, The Rev. William F. 
Morgan, of Christ Chmxh, Norwich, read the letter of institution, and the 
Rev. Edward O. Flagg, of Trinity Church, assisted the Rector in the 
Holy Communion. 

The parish, in the course of a few years, relieved itself 
of the debt contracted in the erection of the church, and 
soon found itself in a condition to finish the basement for 
a chapel and vestry-room, which had been left incomplete. 
A portion of the space under the church has since been 
fitted up for the accommodation of the Sunday-school. 



112 



ST, JAMES' Sy NEW LONDON, 



December 12, 1855. Jonathan Coit, Esq., a wealthy citi- 
zen, not a Churchman, left by his will, among many munifi- 
cent bequests, three thousand dollars to St. James's Churchy 
with the design of augmenting the compensation of the 
rector. This legacy still remains, and is the only endow- 
ment of the parish. 

In 1855, a deacon, just admitted to Orders, came to 
reside with the rector, and to aid him in the duties of his 
office ; and this additional service proved so useful, that the 
office of an assistant was continued through the succession 
of ten others, till the increasing infirmity of the rector ren- 
dered a more permanent arrangement necessary. 

In 1854, George R. Lewis, by his will, bequeathed the 
sum of $1,500 toward the erection of a new rectory, on a lot 
in the rear of the church, on condition that a sum deemed 
by his executors to be sufficient for the purpose be raised 
within two years 'of his decease. The condition was com-^ 
plied with, and the land purchased of W. W. BiUings. The 
old rectory being purchased by the rector, his residence 
remained unchanged. A building committee was appointed, 
but as there was no urgent necessity for haste, and the 
amount obtained was thought by many to be insufficient to 
erect such a builduig as seemed desirable, the building 
committee resigned, and the whole subject slept for some 
years, while the fund was gradually increasing. At length, 
in 1859, the subject was revived, and a new building com- 
mittee appointed, by whom the design was accomplished at 
the expense of $10,000, and an appropriate, substantial, and 
handsome house was erected, to take the place of the old 
Propagation Society's parsonage, which had been the home 
of successive rectors for more than one hundred years. 

In 1867, the church was enlarged by an extension on the 
south side of the chancel and the east side of the south 
transept, filling up the angle between them, constructed of 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON. 



Stone, and conformed to the general style of the church. It 
is two stories in height, and, by this addition, a vestry-room 
was obtained on a level with the church, and a room under- 
neath for the accommodation of an infant-school. 

In 1867, an incident of rare occurrence and considerable 
interest took place. The frigate Sabine," with a large num- 
ber of naval apprentices on board, was lying in the harbor. 
The Rev. Wm. A. Hitchcock, a clergyman of the Church, 
was chaplain on board, and, under his earnest labors, an 
unwonted degree of religious feeling Avas awakened. A 
good number of the apprentices desired confirmation. The 
occasion excited unusual interest, and a considerable num- 
ber of citizens attended the bishop in his visitation to the 
ship, where he confirmed twenty-five. One of the candi- 
dates, a great-grandson of Bishop Seabury, and bearing his 
name, Samuel Seabury, was allowed to come on shore to re- 
ceive the rite, which was administered to him in the church. 

It remains only to say that, in the winter of 187 1, the 
parish was greatly shocked by the sudden and awful death of 
the Rev. Morelle Fowler, with all his family, by an accident 
on the Hudson River Railroad. ^Ir. Fowler had been a useful 
and valuable assistant of the rector, and his wife Avas born 
and reared here. The sudden and aAvful calamity was 
universally and deeply felt. The remains Avere brought to 
New London for interment, and none Avho Avitnessed the 
affecting scene of the funeral in St. James's, Avill ever lose 
the impression. A suitable tablet has been placed in the 
chancel to commemorate the mournful event. 

The summer following, the rector, having become satis- 
fied of his permanent inability to discharge the duties of his 
office, asked for the appointment of an assistant, and the 
Rev. Robert ]^I. Duft'" Avas appointed associate minister, 
under whose care it is trusted that the parish Avill lose 
none of its accustomed prosperity. 



114 



ST. JAMES'S, NEW LONDON-. 



Thus, we have reached the end of our history. Cover- 
ing the long period of one hundred and fifty years, it can 
hardly be supposed to be absolutely free from error. It has 
been the writer's aim to state the facts, so far as he could 
ascertain them, fairly and dispassionately. The parish has 
become venerable for years, and, in all stages of its history, 
has abundant occasion to record the fidelity and goodness 
of the Church's head. In speaking of his own lengthened 
ministry, he has aimed to avoid any appearance of egotism 
or boastfulness. Not to acknowledge the great growth and 
improvement which have characterized the period, would 
savor of ingratitude and affectation ; but any one who sur- 
veys candidly so long a period of service, must discover in 
it such errors of judgment and such defects of motive, so 
much that is feeble or wrong or mistaken, as will secure 
him against being proud. During his term of service, the 
material of the congregation has almost entirely changed. 
Those who were active in its beginning have rested from 
their labors. A generation has passed away. The present 
congregation, to an extent somewhat remarkable, it seems to 
him, is made up of persons educated under other forms of 
religion ; but the assimilative process has gone on gently 
and imperceptibly, without jar or disturbance, as though it 
were the inheritor of an hereditary faith. In quietness and 
confidence has been its strength, and so the "sons of stran- 
gers have built up its walls," and n:iany of those who once 
looked upon her with aversion or distrust, have found in 
her a home of present peace and heavenly hope. The 
writer's only boast is, that he has sought to serve her with 
diligence and good-vv^ill, not of constraint, but willingly; 
not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind ; and if any shall 
seek a word of praise for him hereafter, let it be that " he 
fed them with a faithful and true heart, and ruled them pru- 
dently with all his power." 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 




List of Persons Ordained iii St. yames^s Church, 



Reuben Ives, Priest. 
Chauncy Prindle, Priest. 
Edward Blakslee, Deacon. 
David Foote, Deacon. 
Adam Boyd, Deacon. 
Tillotson Bronson, Priest. 
Robert Fowle, Deacon. 
Joseph Warren, Deacon. 
Wm. Green, Deacon. 
Bethuel Chittenden, Priest. 
Evan Rogers, Priest. 
Isaac W. Hallam, Priest. 
Chas. A. Spooner, Priest. 
Giles H. Deshon, Priest. 
Alfred B. Goodrich, Deacon. 
John N. Marvin, Priest. 
George W. Chevers, Priest. 
James E. Coley, Priest. 
Sam'l Hall, Priest. 
Henry T. Gregory, Priest. 
Thos. W. Punnett, Priest. 
Delancey G. Rice, Priest. 
James Rankine, Priest. 




APPENDIX. 



John B. Linn, Priest. 
Wm. H. Cook, Priest. 
Peter L. Shepard, Priest. 
Edward H. True, Priest. 
Alex. G. Cummins, Deacon. 
Morelle Fowler, Priest. 
Jesse E. Heald, Deacon. 
Henry W. Nelson, Jr., Priest. 
Wm.. A. DesBrisay, Priest. 
Edward Goodridge, Priest. 
J. Sturgis Pearce, Priest. 
Lorenzo Sears, Priest. 
Henry M. Sherman, Priest. 
Chas. G. Gilliat, Priest. 
Samuel Upjohn, Priest. 
John Binney, Priest. 
Geo. M. Stanley, Priest. 
Richard K. Ashley, Deacon. 



List of Deacons assistant to the Rector. 

John B. Linn. Henry W. Nelson, Jr. 

Arthur Mason. Chas. G. Gilliat. 

James E. Coley. Samuel Upjohn. 

Thomas W. Punnett. John Binney. 

Morelle Fowler. George M. Stanley. 
Wm. R. Harris. 



Natives of New London who have received Holy Orders. 



William Green. 
Samuel Seabury, D.D. 
Thomas W. Coit, D.D. 
Gurdon S. Coit, D,D. 
Allen C. Morgan. 

Charles 



Robert A. Hallam, D.D. 
Giles H, Deshon, D.D. 
John J. Brandegee, D.D. 
John C. Middleton. 
E. Huntington Saunders. 
Lester. 



H. 



APPENDIX. 



119 



Candidates. 

James Stoddard. A. Judson Arnold. 

John H. Francis, Postulant. 



List of Wardens from 1732, wheji the first choice was made. 

1732. Thomas Mumford, John Braddick. 

1733, 1734, 1735. John Braddick, John Shackmaple. 
1736, 1737. J^hn Shackmaple, Matthew Stewart. 

1738. Matthew Stewart, Samuel Edgecomb. 

1739. Samuel Edgecomb, Giles Goddard. 

1740. Giles Goddard, Guy Palmes. 

1 741. Guy Palmes, Nathaniel Green. 

1742. Nathaniel Green, Edward Palmes. 

1743. 1744. Edward Palmes, Merritt Smith. 

1745. Merritt Smith, Thomas Mumford. 

1746, 1747, 1748, 1749, 1750, 1 75 1. Thomas Mumford, Samuel 
Edgecomb. 

1752, 1753. Thomas Manwarring, Nicholas Lechmere. 

1754. Samuel Edgecomb, Guy Palmes. 

1755. Samuel Edgecomb, Edward Palmes. 

1756. Samuel Edgecomb, Jonathan Starr. 

1757. Jonathan Starr, James ^vlumford. 

1758. 1759, 1760. James Mumford, Thomas Mumford. 
1761, 1762. Samuel Edgecomb, Jonathan Starr. 
1763, 1764. Jonathan Starr, Thomas Fosdick. 

1765. Ebenezer Goddard, Jonathan Starr. 

1766, 1767. Ebenezer Goddard, Samuel Bill. 

1768. William Stewart, George Mumford. 

1769. William Stewart, Jonathan Starr, Jr. 

1770. 1 77 1. Jonathan Starr, Jr., Thomas Allen. 
1772. Thomas Allen, John Deshon. 

I773> 1774- Thomas Allen, David Mumford. 

1775- Thomas Allen, John Deshon. 

1776, 1777, 1778. No choice. 

1779, 1780. Thomas Allen, John Hertel. 

1 781, 1782, 1783, 1784, 1785. William Stewart, Jonathan Starr, Jr. 



I20 



APPENDIX. 



1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796, 
1 797 J 1798? I799j iSoOj \%o\, 1802. Jonathan Starr, Jr., Roswell Sal- 
tons tall. 

1803, 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, 1808, 1809, 1810. Jonathan Starr, Jr., 
Samuel Wlieat. 

181 1, 1812, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816. Jonathan Starr, 3d, Edward 
Hall am. 

1817, 181 8. Jonathan Starr, 3d, Isaac Thompson. 

1819, 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828, 182:). 
Jared Starr, Isaac Thompson. 

1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1838. Edward Hal^ 
lam, Jonathan Starr, 3d. 

1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 
1850, 1 85 1, 1852. Jonathan Starr, 3d, Francis Allyn. 

1853, 1854, 1855, 1856. Francis Allyn, Enoch V. Stoddard. 

1857, 1858. Enoch V. Stoddard, Stanley G. Trott. 

1859, i860, 1861, 1862, 1863. Enoch V. Stoddard, Chas. A. Lewis. 

1864, 1865, 1866, 1867. Enoch V. Stoddard, Isaac C. Tate. 

1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873. Isaac C. Tate, Hiram Willey.^i 




